GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Work gets underway next month to replace an aging section of the Martin Luther King Jr. Street bridge over US-131 in Grand Rapids.
The project is expected to take between eight and nine months. Work will begin March 2 and continue through mid-November, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation. Bridge demolition is scheduled for the second week of April, weather permitting.
As crews work, Martin Luther King Jr. Street will be closed over US-131. Traffic will be detoured via Division Avenue, Hall Street and Century Avenue. The northbound US-131 on-ramp and off-ramp will be shut down, while the southbound US-131 ramps will stay open.
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The $30 million project will focus on the eastern section of the bridge, from the northbound US-131 ramps to about 200 feet east of Buchanan Avenue. This section was built in the 1920s, making it about a century old. Officials say it still includes some of the original bridge components.
The western section of the bridge is newer, so it is not included in the project…