Escanaba's main street, Ludington, is shown near its intersection with 10th Street. Ludington will be closed starting April 20 from 6th Street to 14th Street as crews begin to mill the pavement in preparation of construction this summer. (Courtesy photo)

ESCANABA — Milling of Ludington Street in downtown Escanaba is set to begin April 20. That means the top layer of the street is going to be taken off in preparation of water and sewer line replacements underneath the roadway.

Said construction will require the closure of Ludington Street from 6th to 14th Streets, said Project Manager Darren Pionk with C2AE.

The intersection at Ludington Street and 10th Street will also be closed. Traffic will need to cross Ludington at 14th Street, with the primary detour route running along First Avenue South.

“There will be some prep work ahead of time in regard to signage and getting the detour route set up. The milling will take several days to complete,” Pionk said.

A special meeting for business owners and residents between 9th and 16th Street to talk about the project is scheduled for Wednesday, April 15, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Escanaba City Hall, 410 Ludington St.

As construction progresses, work will eventually extend to 16th Street. Pionk said the 10-block stretch of Ludington Street could remain closed for much of the summer.

“Is it the full extent? I don’t know that I can really say that yet. We have to finalize closure plans with the contractor,” said Pionk. “But, all of this work has to be completed this year, so, there will be major road closures on Ludington Street throughout the summer.”

How will Ludington Street change?

While the primary purpose of the project is to replace aging water and sewer infrastructure beneath Ludington Street, the city is also taking the opportunity to implement several street improvements aimed at enhancing the downtown.

One of the most noticeable changes will be the addition of curb “bump outs” between Third and 10th Streets. They are designed to calm traffic, reduce crossing distances and improve pedestrian safety. The rest of Ludington Street will remain structurally the same.

“Bump outs will be installed at intersections through 10th Street, including all four corners of the 10th Street intersection. As we go west to 11th and up to 16th Streets the pavement is going to be replace and much of the curb and gutter is going to be replaced but we are not putting in bump outs. Instead, they will be marked with paint,” Pionk said.

The project also aims to address speeding concerns in the downtown. Currently, the speed limit in the downtown is 25 mph, but traffic tends to move much faster. Pionk said the goal of the street design in the downtown is to slow traffic down.

“It is a downtown area. We don’t need people doing 35 to 40 mph. We need them doing 15 to 20 and 25 mph max just so they can see the businesses and get orientated to where they are at. And for safety,” Pionk said.

Parking will also change from angled to parallel parking. Pionk said that will allow for a bike lane on both sides of the road. The bike lane will remove bicycles from the sidewalks where there have been conflicts between bicyclists and pedestrians.

Overall, the number of parking spots in the downtown will increase as the city replaces some curb cutouts and handicapped spaces are moved to the side streets. The current handicap parking locations are not ADA compliant.

Regular informational meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month concerning construction projects throughout the city. Those meetings are held at 6 p.m. at Escanaba City Hall.