FeedsMichigan Avenue project falls behind
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The Michigan Avenue reconstruction project may be two weeks behind schedule, but city officials said it would still be complete by the end of the construction cycle.“We’re about two weeks late,” said City Engineer Ramzi El-Gharib.
The end of July is fast approaching and workers from Dan’s Excavating are still at work on the north lanes of westbound Michigan Avenue. Contractors were cutting brick for the extended streetscape and installing them this week while traffic chugged along on the southern lane of the road.
The initial timeline for the Michigan Avenue reconstruction project called for the shift to the second phase to take place at the beginning or middle of July. That move is now tentatively scheduled for the last week of July or first week of August.
“The reason why is that we did the majority of the utility work in the first phase of the project,” El-Gharib said. That will save time in the second phase, he said.
To accentuate the traffic woes in the community, workers closed down Glenwood Road to affect repairs at the railroad crossing between Elizabeth and Newburgh roads. That project is scheduled to take one week.
Only one lane of Wayne Road remained open this week, too.
When work at that intersection is complete, the project will switch to the southern portion of the roadway. Work at the intersection of Howe and Michigan Avenue is expected to wrap up soon, too.
“This will probably be the two most frustrating weeks of the project,” said Peter McInerney, community development director for Wayne.
The project may be two weeks behind schedule now, but El-Gharib said the contractor is still insisting he’ll meet the initial completion date.
“He said he anticipates the project will be finished by the middle of November,” El-Gharib said.
