Road Construction to Begin This Month on M-53 in Lapeer County

It's road construction season in Michigan. That means you can expect to see orange barrels, barricades, and, most importantly, delays.

A road construction project is scheduled to begin on May 13 along a portion of M-53 in Lapeer County.

The Michigan Department of Transportation announced its plans to resurface more than eight miles of M-53 from south of Bowers Road to Deanville Road.

The project, which will also include milling and resurfacing, joint repairs, drainage, guardrail installation, pavement marking, and replacing the M-53 bridge over Elk Lake Creek, will cost a pricey $9.8 million.

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You can expect single-lane closures and a complete shutdown of M-53 on June 3rd. The closure will take place as workers repair the bridge over Elk Lake Creek. This will turn into a major headache for commuters.

According to ABC 12, commuters will be detoured using Bowers, Lake Pleasant, and Clear Lake Roads. Truck traffic will be detoured using I-69, M-24 and M-90.

Not everyone has confidence in the road project as one person on social media posted mixed feelings about this:

Facebook User:

"We desperately need roads fixed, but $9.8 million for just over 8 miles of road that most likely won't last 5 years (nothing does). Also, M53 travel will be nearly impossible during rush hour times all summer... I guess if I had confidence that we knew how to build a road that lasts, I might be happier."

Another person stated that it wouldn't be a bad idea to look to our southern neighbors for advice:

"I’ve always appreciated Ohio for its quality of roads. If you really wanted your lawn to be green, and your neighbors had a really green lawn, you could just ask them what/how they did it. Then, you could just do exactly what they do. Problem solved. This really seems like an easy concept to me."

Construction will begin on May 13, regardless of how residents feel.

The road construction project is expected to wrap up in August.