US-41 project to begin Monday from Negaunee to Marquette Township

NEGAUNEE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WLUC) - One of the busiest sections of highway in the U.P. will be resurfaced this summer.

MDOT said work will begin Monday on six miles of US-41 from Iroquois Drive in Negaunee to Brickyard Road in Marquette Township.

The project will also reconfigure some highway crossovers, like near the M-35 junction.

“Wherever the road crews are working, they’ll be restricted to one lane, so either the right or left lane will be closed,” said MDOT Traffic and Safety Engineer Ben Carrigan. “You’ll always have one lane of traffic, both bounds, and traffic is less on this section than further east where we’ve had similar lane closures.”

While drivers should expect delays, MDOT said it is trying to work as efficiently as possible.

“We do have some nightwork planned to help alleviate those congested periods, especially east of M-35,” said Carrigan.

With this in mind, drivers need to be extra careful when traveling this stretch of highway.

“It’s a combination of both speed and distracted driving,” said MSP 8th District Public Information Officer Lt. Mark Giannunzio. “That speed is always there, that’s why we have lowered speed limits in those construction zones, so you have a little more reaction time, but it’s the distractions in your vehicle and around you that really cause those crashes.”

Giannunzio reminds drivers that the benefits of the road improvements are worth the minor inconvenience.

“In the time that it’s taking place, the construction is going to be a little aggravating,” Giannunzio said. “You’re going to have to be in waiting in line a little bit longer, give yourself extra time, but, in the end, it’s going to make a safer traveling environment for everyone.”

Highway crossovers will be reconfigured from the east intersection with Heritage Drive to the end of the grass median east of Pond Road. The end result will create more room for commercial vehicles to turn.

MDOT expects the construction to be complete by September.

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