BREITUNG TOWNSHIP — The east loop of Kramer Drive that provides access to the Pine Mountain ski jump was closed until further notice Monday as construction begins on an elevator to the jump’s warming shelter.

But the west loop will remain open to vehicle traffic, with a signal control, in cooperation with Bacco Construction and Gundlach Champion Inc., two of the main contractors on the elevator tower project, the Dickinson County Road Commission stated in a news release Monday.

The late change in traffic plans came after a DCRC meeting Monday with county, Breitung Township and other representative, James Harris, the commission’s managing director, said in the release.

“This plan will provide for important and safer access to the veterans park and memorial during the construction,” Harris said.

The U.P. Veterans Memorial also is at the top of Pine Mountain, as is the Kiwanis Ski Club’s Springer Haus, adjacent to the ski jump.

Harris and the commission had announced last week the entire loop would be closed due to safety concerns, as the normally one-way loop was deemed too narrow, too steep and had limited sight line for two-way traffic on the west side alone.

The signal will alternate vehicles into and out of the site while still avoiding the construction zone.

Pedestrian and bicycle traffic will be allowed on the west loop as well, Harris said in the release, adding, “Please reduce speeds and respect the project construction safety limits at the site.”

The Kiwanis Ski Club has contracted with Gundlach Champion to do the elevator project in two phases. This year, the company will construct the frame for another 92-foot tower on the back of the existing structure adjacent to the ski jump that has the warming hut, with catwalks to four levels where the elevator can stop.

The second phase — putting the elevator in the new tower — is slated for 2026. But another $1 million will be needed to complete the project due to increases in the price of steel and other materials, Kiwanis Ski Club President Nick Blagec said last month.

The club in 2024 received a $1 million Michigan Economic Development Corp. infrastructure grant to get started on the elevator, Blagec said. They are looking for other grants or funding sources to keep the project on track in 2026.

It’s part of the club’s ongoing effort to keep the Pine Mountain ski jump venue up to standards of the governing body International Ski Federation, commonly referred to as FIS. Pine Mountain now hosts a Continental Cup ski jump tourney that draws thousands of spectators each year to the community, but FIS has indicated it will consider the site for a World Cup event — the highest level of competition in the sport — if it has proper facilities, which includes an elevator.