US-31 rebuilding near Interlochen moves into next construction phase

Northbound US-31 traffic near Interlochen was pushed onto Gonder Road, Riley Road, J. Maddy Parkway, Youker Road and County Road 633 as MDOT moved the $32.5 million rebuild into its next phase. Southbound traffic stayed on US-31, but J. Maddy Parkway access to the highway was closed for most of the phase, tightening the squeeze on one of the main routes south of Traverse City.

The new stage was expected to begin June 2 or 3, weather permitting, after an April notice had said detours could begin as early as April 7. MDOT said the work centered on the south side of US-31 between Sullivan Road and west of South Long Lake Road and J. Maddy Parkway, with the roundabout build moving forward first and the heavier detour pattern expected to run into July.

The rebuild covers 7.8 miles from Sullivan Road in Green Lake Township, Grand Traverse County, to Reynolds Road in Inland Township, Benzie County. MDOT says the corridor is being widened to improve pavement condition and safety, with a new center left-turn lane, widened paved shoulders with rumble strips, access management improvements and a rebuilt South Long Lake Road and J. Maddy Parkway intersection that will become a two-lane roundabout.

MDOT’s project presentation counted 267 crashes in the project limits from 2017 through 2021, said crash rates were 20 percent higher than on comparable two-lane, two-way rural Michigan roads, and found that 24 percent of crashes in the project area happened at South Long Lake Road and J. Maddy Parkway. The agency says a center left-turn lane is expected to cut all crashes by 10 percent and fatalities by more than 17 percent, while the roundabout is projected to reduce intersection crashes by 55 percent and fatal-and-injury crashes by 78 percent. MDOT also said the roundabout was designed for personal travel, nonmotorized users, commercial trucks, public transportation and emergency services, with ADA-compliant ramps and crosswalks at the intersection.

The corridor work was laid out by the MDOT Traverse City Transportation Service Center team of Dan Wagner, Lucas Porath, Krista Phillips and Jessica Carpenter, with RS Engineering’s Brian Smith, Leigh Burgess and Alex Oosterhoff listed on the project presentation. MDOT’s FAQ says traffic counts used for the roundabout study showed an anticipated delay of 10 seconds under current volumes and less than 20 seconds by 2045, a small price for a rebuild that MDOT says was already planned to run from 2025 into 2026 and to handle the pressure of another busy summer travel season.