Titled “The Miller Avenue Rehabilitation Project,” the year-long construction project on one of Ann Arbor, Michigan’s main streets, Miller Avenue has begun.
Headed by civil engineer IV Theresa Bridges, the project will occur in three phases. As part of phase one, workers have started to rip up parts of the road at the intersections of Newport Road and Seventh Street. In this phase, the city’s goals are to replace water pipes and improve stormwater detention along with road realignment and repavement. The eastbound lane, which directs automobiles into downtown Ann Arbor, will remain open to non-through traffic. The first phase is set to finish on July 7, 2025.
The second and third phases consist of similar goals, spanning from Brooks St to Chapin St, and Maple St to First St, respectively. The city is also planning to install instruments to reduce vehicle speed, such as speed tables, Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) and lower speed limits.
The city’s reasons for the project are that the main water lines that run under Miller Avenue require replacement, there is a necessity to replace roads on the main strip and funds are available to improve the Allen Creek watershed along with new, protected bike lanes. The bike lanes are a part of the City of Ann Arbor’s long-standing project to achieve a community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030, named A2ZERO. The city expects that residents will experience dust and noise near the construction site, and non-residents will be re-routed to alternate roads including Dexter Avenue, South Revena Boulevard and West Washington Street.
Multiple bus routes will be detoured during the entirety of the project. Routes 32 and 61 will be rerouted onto Brooks Street, then to Sunset Street, to Newport Street and finally back to Miller Avenue, where both routes will resume their normal paths. It is anticipated that these detours will cause the buses to run slightly slower than usual, so students must work in extra time for their daily commutes, including route 61, which takes any split-enrolled students to and from Skyline High School.
Construction will continue through the next year and is planned to be completed in the fall of 2025. Though it may temporarily disrupt morning and evening commutes, in the long term, it will improve transport from highways I-94, US-23 and M-14 into downtown Ann Arbor, so that vital jobs can continue to be performed.
For more information, visit: https://engage.a2gov.org/milleravenue-project
