ROCKFORD, Mich. (WOOD) — Just about every city and community in West Michigan has seen some major changes over the last couple of years. In Rockford, that includes road construction projects and a historical society museum.
This summer, Lincoln Street, Maple Street and Courtland Drive in Rockford will be under construction, receiving $4 million worth of updates. The work will impact the downtown area but Rockford Mayor Terry Konkel and City Manager Thad Beard said detours will be set up to reroute traffic.
The city is also studying its trees.
“Rockford’s history is being a tree town. We planted a lot of trees back in our early history,” said Konkel.
The trees have been inspected, catalogued and trimmed.
“It gives us a whole inventory of a tree, the assets, the species, the size, and issues that we need to deal with them, so we have a better understanding of the quality of our tree canopy. Ultimately, our goal is to enhance our tree canopy,” said Beard.
Residents and guests can learn about Rockford’s history at the historical society museum, which is housed in what used to be the 63rd district court. The city has since had the inside of the building redone.
“We have right now, I think, one of the finest small-town museums in the state. A lot of local history there. And we do have quite a few people come through,” Konkel said.