WALKER, Mich — The Michigan Department of Transportation is hosting a public meeting Monday (March 3, 2025) from 4:30-6 p.m. at the Walker City Hallto talk about rebuilding the I-96/Fruit Ridge Avenue interchange in Walker.
The construction project will require a complete closure of the bridge and interchange beginning March 31, 2025.
This will be a major undertaking, something the Engineer for the City of Walker Scott Conners knows will cause some adjusting for commuters and businesses in the area.
"It's going to be a long summer, and we had a rough year last year, just getting ready for it. But now it's time, and we're all gonna have to dig a little deep," Conners told FOX17. "We're gonna have to find alternate routes. We're gonna have to plan extra time and again. That includes all of us, including me."
The construction project will be aimed at updating and realigning the stamps to make the over 60-year-old interchange more efficient and safer.
"We've been watching this for quite some time in terms of the deck and the ideas about, you know, some of the old crumbling bridge issues that you've seen in from the national media about pieces falling down," Conners said. "So this one does get watched quite a bit, and there's been a lot of spot repair that's been done. And I think that's why the urgency came to at least replace the deck, or come up with all the money that we could to replace the entire interchange.
Funding for the project comes as the City of Walker was awarded a $25,000,000 grant from the State of Michigan and is in collaboration with the Michigan Department of Transportation.
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