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.
Project Manager Darren Pionk with C2AE in Escanaba said it will require the closure of Ludington Street from 6th to 14th Streets.
"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.
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 1st Avenue South.
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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."
That is because grant money to replace water and sewer lines need to be used by mid-September. But, Pionk says, final paving may continue beyond that deadline.
To help reduce disruption, project planners have built milestones into the construction schedule.
"We do have some milestones in the contract as regards to where they can start working and finish dates in there to try and minimize some of the chaos and confusion on Ludington Street but we will have potentially two contractors working simultaneously on Ludington throughout the summer," Pionk said.
A special meeting for business owners and residents between 9th and 16th Street is scheduled for Wednesday, April 15, from 3 to 5 p.m. at city hall.
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 city hall.
