KALAMAZOO, MI -- A major project on I-94 in Kalamazoo is expected to take several additional months before completion.
Originally expected to be finished this month, the highway interchange project’s updated timeline extends well into 2023.
The $87 million project to widen I-94 and build a redesigned interchange to Portage Street is expected to continue until summer of 2023, Michigan Department of Transportation officials said in a news release.
Motorists should expect to encounter ramp closures in the construction area until the project is completed.
“The delay is frustrating for us as well,” MDOT Southwest Region Spokesman Nick Schirripa told MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette, saying the agency understands how residents feel about the timeline extension. “We want to be able to deliver on time.”
The project has faced several delays since its start in April 2021, including lost time for illness and supply chain issues caused by the pandemic, Schirripa said, as well as a bridge beam redesign early in the project, and industrywide cement shortages.
Related: I-94 work in Kalamazoo County delayed to redesign bridge beams over safety concerns
The beam issue caused a delay of a couple months, he said. The cement shortage is hitting this project more than some others, he said, because of the size and scope of the work, and because of the amount of cement used.
“We really appreciate folks’ patience,” Schirripa said, and the delays can cause interruptions and inconveniences.
“We want to get back to normal as quickly as possible and we’re working as hard as we can to do that,” he said.
When the interchange reopens, it will be an updated design, meant to increase safety and efficiency. The original interchange was built in 1962, he said, and changes were made to the adjacent streets over the decades as the area grew, Schirripa said.
“It certainly wasn’t the most efficient, but it wasn’t built like that from the outset,” Schirripa said.
The work happening now comes after MDOT redesigned the road with upgrades for a better fit for traffic in the area, he said. It is the same SPUI (or single point urban interchange) configuration installed at the I-94/Westnedge Avenue interchange that reopened to drivers in 2011.
The southbound Sprinkle Road ramp to westbound I-94 has reopened, as well as Portage Road at I-94, MDOT said, and work will continue on the project through winter.
Crews will continue work to rebuild the westbound lanes of I-94, rebuild two railroad bridges and the I-94 bridge and interchange at Portage Street, and continue installation of noise abatement barriers, MDOT said.
Work on the interchange at Portage Street is continuing, Schirripa said. Crews are working on the eastbound offramp now, and the eastbound onramp is done, he said.
The westbound offramp is under construction, and the westbound onramp is nearing completion, and will be finished toward the end of the project, Schirripa said.
There will be continuing ramp closures throughout the remainder of the project including:
- Northbound Sprinkle Road to westbound I-94
- Northbound Portage Road to westbound I-94
- Westbound I-94 to Portage Road
Northbound Sprinkle Road traffic can access westbound I-94 via the roundabouts at the interchange and using the southbound ramp to westbound I-94.
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