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ESCANABA -- Warm weather is synonymous with road work in the Upper Peninsula and Delta County is no exception. Here's a look at some of the projects coming to the area this summer.
ESCANABA
A significant portion of the road projects taking place in Escanaba are related to the city's ongoing lead service line replacement projects. However, there are a few projects that the city is doing independently of the water department.
The largest project planned for the roads is the paving of 5th Avenue South from 26th Street to 32nd Street. Bids for the project have not yet been opened, but according to a request for bids put out by the city, the project is expected to take place between July 1 and October 30.
Other roadwork in the city will largely be related to concrete work, which can be done by the public works crews themselves. Concrete work will take place on 5th Avenue South, in conjunction with the paving project, as well as on 14th Street and other areas in the city.
While not related to city streets, the public works department will also be replacing the basketball courts with new concrete at Royce Park and Ludington Park. This is a first for the city.
"We're planning in the budget to present sort of a trial run with some, and if it works, (it's) something maybe we can repeat and keep doing to build more courts or, really, replace the ones we have," City Manager Jim McNeil said of the recreation department and the city's public works department doing the concrete work to restore the courts.
GLADSTONE
In Gladstone, there are two small road projects planned for the summer. The first project is a complete reconstruction of 15th Street near The Saloon restaurant. The other is the extension of Sjoquist Drive, located in the city's industrial park, about 200 feet to connect with 29th Street.
"We've kind of taken the last four years and we've done quite a bit. This year we're kind of catching up on our regular maintenance," said Gladstone Public Works Superintendent Barry Lund.
MDOT PROJECTS
In Delta County, the Michigan Department of Transportation is planning repairs on the expansion joint at the north end of the US-2 bridge over the Escanaba River, also known as the Senator Tom Casperson Memorial Bridge. The work will require a single right-lane closure for southbound traffic and is expected to take about two weeks. A start date for the project has not been set, but it is slated to commence sometime in June.
Following the expansion joint work -- sometime in late summer -- MDOT crews will complete an epoxy overlay on the bridge deck, which will require intermittent single-lane closures in both directions. The work is expected to take about two weeks to complete, and the non-motorized pathway along the bridge will also be closed for a day or two during that period.
"We plan to keep the northbound shoulder open while the pathway is getting the overlay. This will allow bikes and pedestrians to use the northbound shoulder while the path is closed," said MDOT Media Representative for the Superior Region Dan Weingarten.
The entire bridge project is expected to cost $290,000.
MDOT is also planning a resurfacing of the passing relief lanes in Schoolcraft County on M-28 near Seney. That project is expected to be completed in August and is a continuation of a project that started in November of last year. When all is said and done, the entire M-28 project will have cost about $882,000.