R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press Construction is shown underway on the east end of Ludington Street last week. Underground infrastructure work on Escanaba’s main downtown street will continue westward this summer, and when it’s time to repave, a new design for the streetscape will feature wider sidewalks, an island and crosswalks.

ESCANABA — Escanaba will look different after construction projects in the city this summer.

The road work alone sounds like an ambitious list. Water mains are being replaced on South 13th Street, South 10th Street, 2nd Avenue North and more. Lead service line replacements affect large chunks of residential areas — like much of 1st Avenue North, several blocks between Willow Creek Road and the high school, and the area south of 18th Avenue South and east of South Lincoln Road to the lakeshore. Storm sewer improvements and work for clean water will be most noticeable on Ludington Street but are also in some alleys, like for a few blocks between South 15th and 16th Streets.

A streetscape project that has been a goal of the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) for years is taking advantage of the infrastructure work on Ludington Street. Since the road will be torn up from the sewer access, instead of repaving “the longest small town downtown” the way it was, a new vision will be laid out.

The redesigned Ludington Street will feature wider sidewalks, a bicycle lane, crosswalks, a center island and corner bumpouts to promote ease of pedestrian crossing.

In North Escanaba, the splash pad on the site of the former Webster Wading Pool is moving forward: City Recreation Director Kim Peterson said that the splash park and surfacing has been ordered.

“We hope that it arrives within a few weeks so we can start the construction process,” Peterson said.

The project will include two pavilions, one bike rack, three benches and one table alongside the splash pad, in addition to a reading bench and small playground area donated by Delta-Schoolcraft County Great Start Family Coalition.

If all goes well, the splash pad may get a soft opening late this summer, but it’s too early to determine a timeline. It will definitely be open for the 2026 season, though, Peterson said.

There is also movement happening on a few commercial properties in town.

Site clearing has begun at the property north of Meijer at at N. 30th Street and 6th Avenue North, which evidence implies is to be occupied by Amazon — though the name of the company that will occupy the 50,400-square-foot last-mile shipping terminal planned for the site hasn’t officially been released yet.

Demolition is underway of the old Super One at 501 N. Lincoln Rd., which was vacated in 2017. Kwik Trip — a Wisconsin convenience store chain that already has locations in Iron Mountain, Gwinn and Marquette — will be working to erect a new store and gas station in its place this summer. It is likely to open for business by autumn.

The former Hudson’s Classic Grill at 201 N. Lincoln Rd., which has been owned by Upper Peninsula-based marijuana dispensary chain The Fire Station for the last couple years, may see some development soon. The Fire Station’s most recent site plan, which included a new ingress off of 1st Avenue North, was approved by the Escanaba Planning Commission in early May, with the condition that the egress onto Lincoln Road is designed for one-way traffic.

Gradual work has been done to transform the old Escanaba National Bank building at 723 Ludington Street into Lake Effect Distillery, but it’ll be a while before the place is ready to open. Escanaba Planning and Zoning Administrator Joey Walker mentioned that there have been some changes from Lake Effect’s original plan, but that “things are going well.”

Residents may look forward to seeing completion of some projects this year, while plans continue to develop for others that will stretch into future seasons. Readers can expect to see public hearing notices for proposed upcoming developments.