Major road construction on Miller Avenue, one of Ann Arbor's major east-west thoroughfares, is scheduled to begin next Monday and could last through November.
The $6.5 million project entails complete reconstruction between Maple and Newport roads, improved bicycle lanes, pedestrian crossings with raised islands, and left-turn lanes to improve traffic flow.
Also planned are new sidewalks in areas where none exist, new sidewalk ramps and concrete bus stop pads to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, other basic sidewalk repairs, stormwater improvements that include larger storm sewer pipes to allow for detention, bioswales, rain gardens, and utility work that replaces a water main and a portion of the sanitary sewer.
This crumbling stretch of Miller Avenue is next on the city's list of major road reconstruction projects.
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
Here are the details:
In the first stage, traffic will be maintained along the south side of Miller Avenue while work occurs on the northerly portion of the roadway.
Initially, the eastbound traffic lane will be maintained for vehicles traveling into the city. Vehicles traveling out of the city in the westbound direction will be detoured on an interim basis via Main Street, Huron Street/Jackson Avenue and Maple Road until late April or early May.
At that time, traffic will be switched to allow for two-way traffic with one lane operating in each direction.
Eastbound traffic will be shifted onto the new temporary pavement along the southernmost portion of the roadway. That will be maintained as a single traffic lane for vehicles traveling into the city.
Westbound traffic will be shifted onto an area directly adjacent to the new temporary pavement that was previously used for eastbound travel. That area will be maintained as a single traffic lane for vehicles traveling out of the city.
That traffic control scenario will remain in place until work on the north half of the roadway is complete and most of the new pavement has been placed.
In the second stage, from July through November, work will occur on the south half of the roadway, and only one-way traffic in the eastbound direction will be permitted.
Vehicles traveling into the city will be shifted onto the new and mostly complete north half of the roadway. A single traffic lane will be maintained for vehicles traveling into the city.
Vehicles traveling out of the city in the westbound direction will again be detoured via Main Street, Huron Street/Jackson Avenue and Maple Road. That traffic control scenario will remain in place until work on the south half of the roadway is complete.
Dexter Avenue, another major east-west thoroughfare in Ann Arbor, was reconstructed last year as part of a $4.6 million project that still has the road looking fresh and new.
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
City officials caution there will be times when work will be occurring in the Miller Avenue/Newport Road intersection and motorists desiring to travel north on Newport Road from Miller Avenue will have to use an alternate route. Northbound Newport Road traffic will be detoured via Brooks Street and Sunset Road during certain stages of construction.
Southbound Newport Road traffic is planned to be maintained through the Miller Avenue intersection for the duration of the project.
Access for emergency vehicles and to driveways and side streets will be maintained to the full extent possible, city officials said. Pedestrian traffic also will be maintained.
The contractor on the project is Hoffman Brothers Inc.
The Ann Arbor City Council voted last month to approve a contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation in order to receive federal funding for the project.
The Federal Highway Administration is expected to allocate Surface Transportation Program funds in the amount of $1.5 million, with another $5 million coming from city funding sources.
That includes $2.6 million from the city's street repair millage, $1.2 million from the city's stormwater fund, $980,628 from the city's water fund, and $161,104 from the city's sewer fund, plus nearly $50,000 coming from the city's information technology budget.
A project webpage will be maintained and updated weekly and can be found by going to the city's road construction website at www.a2gov.org, where other projects happening this year are listed.
Other roadwork ahead: State Street, Barton Drive among Ann Arbor streets to get $3.6M facelift
Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.