EASTPORT -- The season of the orange traffic cone returns.
About $115 million in state road improvements are planned in coming months across northern Lower Michigan, including bike path, widening, resurfacing and bridge projects on a number of regional state highways. Most of the work will be done between now and November, state transportation officials said.
Construction will begin this week on 6.3 miles of non-motorized pathways along the shoulders of U.S. 31 in Antrim County, from Old Dixie Highway to Barnes Road.
The $936,000 project is intended to enhance safety for bicyclists in that area.
"It's definitely good for our tourism and obviously it will help keep the road a little safer for cyclists and improve access," said Chet Morris, owner of Revolution Bike shop in Charlevoix.
Morris has a number of customers who live in that area and likely will take advantage of the new bike paths, including him, he said.
Another big project will change the face of downtown Kingsley this summer.
About 1.4 miles of M-113 in Grand Traverse County will be widened and resurfaced, along with accompanying streetscape work in the downtown zone.
That work is set to begin in coming days.
"It's the main strip through town. It will put in a new road, decorative street lights and trees will be planted," said Adam Umbrasas, Kingsley village manager.
That work will cost nearly $1.7 million for the road and streetscape work, state officials said.
The village also will pay $130,000 to have utilities moved back from the roadway, Umbrasas said.
Also starting next week is six miles of resurfacing work on M-66 in Antrim and Charlevoix counties, from Old State Road north to M-32.
That $838,000 project is expected to be finished by the end of June.
Other projects this summer include: nearly 12 miles of resurfacing on M-32 from U.S. 131 in Antrim County to Murner Road in Otsego County; resurfacing nearly six miles of M-72 in Crawford County; resurfacing more than seven miles of M-37 on Old Mission Peninsula in Grand Traverse County; widening and reconstruction of 1.5 miles of U.S. 131 in Emmet County; and, resurfacing 5.5 miles of U.S. 131 in Wexford County.
