DOUGLAS, Mich. — For the past seven months, the residents of Douglas, Michigan, have been dealing with a frustrating detour and increased traffic on their roads due to a sinkhole that opened up on Ferry Street. However, the city has announced that the repairs to fix the issue will be completed before the busy Memorial Day weekend, just in time for summer.
The sinkhole was caused by a collapsing culvert under the road, making Ferry Street unsafe for regular traffic. This has been a major inconvenience for locals, as Ferry Street is the main access road to several neighborhoods and the popular Oval Beach.
"Instead of taking five minutes to get here from Center and Ferry, it takes 15," said resident Tim Tolson, who lives along the detour route. "All the traffic and all the cars through Lakeshore Drive... So definitely an inconvenience," Tolson remarked.
Tolson also noted that the extra traffic on Lakeshore Drive, which was not built to handle such congestion, has become a hazard for pedestrians and dog walkers in the area.
Douglas Mayor Cathy North acknowledged the difficulties the project has faced, citing the road's location in a wetland and the need to coordinate with numerous utilities and government agencies. However, she emphasized that getting Ferry Street back open is the city's top goal.
"Ferry Street is our number one priority, and we're committed to getting it done before Memorial Day," said North. "We have a number of underground utilities, overhead utilities. We're involved with a number of municipalities and governmental agencies, and we all have to work together on this project."
The total cost of the project is estimated at around $800,000, with the expenses shared across multiple municipalities and agencies. Mayor North said the engineers have done an excellent job planning the various phases and steps to complete the repairs as efficiently as possible.
For residents like Tolson, the end of the detour can't come soon enough. "We're really happy that it's finally underway and that we're going to see the road open hopefully before the summertime comes," he said.
During the construction, the city has noted that emergency crews will need to use the detour route to respond to calls on Ferry Street until the road reopens. Officials are hopeful this temporary inconvenience will be worth it to have the main thoroughfare restored before the busy summer season.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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