Mount Pleasant summer road construction
To improve and maintain the city's infrastructure, the City of Mount Pleasant will be working on a number of construction projects during the summer months, which may cause road closings.
According to the city's May newsletter, asphalt overlays will be applied to Anna Street from Broadway to Maple Streets, Fessenden Street from Henry to Leaton Streets, Harold Street from Henry to Harris Streets, Illinois Street from Mission to Brown Street, Leaton Street from Fessenden to Broadway Streets, Livingston Street from Broadway to Lyons Streets and Lyons Street from Bradley to Adams Streets.
Mount Pleasant City Engineer Stacie Tewari said those projects are currently being worked on and are expected to be completed by early August. Tewari said Mount Pleasant based Central Asphalt Inc. is the contractor. The project is budgeted for $282,000.
New pedestrian lighting will be installed on several streets north of campus this summer. City commissioners unanimously voted at a Nov. 9, 2015 meeting to accept $60,000 from CMU to aid in the cost, with student safety and behavior in mind.
"CMU is really stepping forward for this, and we're going to step forward together on these issues," said Mount Pleasant Mayor Jim Holton. "In all of my meetings with President (George) Ross, he says safety is his number one priority for students."
Pedestrian lighting will be installed along Douglas Street from Bellows Street to High Street, Franklin Street from Bellows Street to High Street, Lansing Street from Bellows Street to Gaylord Street and University Avenue from Bellows Street to High Street.
Tewari said installing street lights will increase the safety of residents through visibility and is part of the city's Master Plan. She said the electrical work has already been installed and lamp posts are ready to be erected. The $270,000 project will end in late June.
The proposed roundabout at Bellows and Washington Streets will not be constructed until the summer of 2017, Tewari said. The cost, she said, was larger than originally estimated at $690,000.
The Isabella County summer construction budget is $5.5 million when including engineering and design, according to Isabella County Road Commission Manager Tony Casali.
Casali said more money was spent fixing gravel roads from the spring thaw than was spent during winter construction. The budget for winter construction was $1.2 million. Only $750,000 was used.
The money saved during winter construction was spent repairing damage made from the spring thaw. The defrost and freeze cycle of spring shifts the roads, making it hard to maneuver. When the frost forces water up and creates muddy roads, which then refreezes, potholes are created.
“The roads that mostly took a toll this winter were the backroads. The gravel roads had a tough spring thaw,” said Casali.”We had more going on in terms of the spring thaw in terms of potholes and reshaping gravel roads to make them passable.”
Road construction began on Wise Road between Fremont Road and Pleasant Valley Road in Mount Pleasant, with the projected completion date on June 30. The detour route has been set to taking Wise Road to Coe Road east to E. County Line Road to Blanchard Road west to Wise Road.
After beginning May 9, the grinding and repavement of Rosebush Road is currently at 41 percent completion. The proposed completion date is June 24.
The Isabella County Road Commission updates its website weekly with its current and upcoming construction projects, including the current percentage of completion.
Broadway Street is currently undergoing a reconstruction of three-lanes, curb and gutter and pavement. The speed limit has been reduced to 35 mph for traffic control as construction continues until the proposed completion date of August 5.
