ESCANABA — Officials say construction along Ludington Street in downtown Escanaba continues to move forward on schedule as crews work through the early phases of the major infrastructure project.
Eight blocks of Ludington Street have been closed for just over three weeks as contractors replace aging underground utilities. The overall project is expected to take approximately five months to complete.
Project Manager Darren Pionk of C2AE said work is progressing well on both sections of the project.
“We’re pretty good on schedule right now,” Pionk said. “We have two crews working. The east project with Oberstar is progressing on the sanitary sewer from 6th to 9th Streets, and Bailey is working from 9th to 16th Streets. Both are moving along well.”
Crews are currently focused on replacing the sanitary sewer main beneath the roadway, which Pionk described as the most complicated portion of the project.
“That’s the deepest and most complicated part of the work,” he said. “A big piece of the puzzle is connecting the new sanitary lines to buildings and determining the conditions inside basements. Once the sanitary sewer work is complete, the remaining work — storm sewer, water main, and road reconstruction — becomes much more straightforward.”
City officials acknowledged there have been challenges during construction but say they are working closely with residents and downtown businesses to maintain access whenever possible.
Water and Wastewater Superintendent Jeff Lampi said sidewalks marked as closed are still accessible to businesses in many areas.
“For legal reasons, we have to post the sidewalks as closed, but it doesn't affect all of the sidewalk, We are maintaining access to businesses,” Lampi said. “Please continue to visit and support downtown businesses during construction.”
Officials noted that access may become more limited as crews begin connecting sanitary sewer laterals to buildings in the coming weeks.
