Portions of U.S. 131 work in Boyne Falls to be delayed until 2021

BOYNE FALLS — The main portion of a project to reconstruct and reconfigure the portion of U.S. 131 that passes through Boyne Falls has been pushed back to 2021.

Speaking to the News-Review Friday, officials with the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Gaylord Transportation Service Center said the delay is a result of issues that have cropped up with locating and/or needs for relocating underground utilities as part of the project.

Officials noted a project of this type and scale involves locating — and in some cases relocating — underground utilities such as communication lines, natural gas lines, electrical lines and some village water lines.

Matt Radulski, operations engineer for the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Gaylord office, previously told the News-Review that the project primarily will involve reconstructing and widening U.S. 131 from Cherry Hill Road to Thumb Lake Road. The work will include creating a three-lane configuration — one lane for traffic in each direction and a center lane for left turns — along with the installation of curb and gutter and stormwater drain work.

The project will also include moving the right turn lane for southbound U.S. 131 traffic turning onto M-75 slightly west to help improve sight lines for traffic approaching U.S. 131 from M-75.

In order for the work to take place, Radulski previously told the News-Review, crews will first need to make preparations for the long-term detours that will be in place while the work on U.S. 131 takes place.

The work for the detour routes will include reconstructing two blocks of Railroad Street in the area of Mill Street, temporary widening to the west side of U.S. 131 and resurfacing on Boyne Mountain Road.

Originally MDOT officials had planned to do the work preparing for the detours last fall, but around the first of September decided to hold off on that work until spring.

The previous plan was for the detour preparation work to begin as soon as the weather allows in the spring of 2020, followed by the main project work with a goal of having all of the work completed before the Polish Festival, which takes place annually on the first full weekend in August in Boyne Falls.

Under the earlier plan, the final phase of the project was slated to be resurfacing U.S. 131 from Thumb Lake Road to Bear River Road. For that portion of the project, crews will grind off the top 1.5 inches of pavement and replace it with a new 1.5-inch layer.

On Friday, MDOT officials said the new plan calls for the U.S. 131 resurfacing north of Boyne Falls to the Charlevoix-Emmet county line to tentatively begin sometime in late May and to be completed by the end of July. While the project is taking place, one lane of traffic will be maintained through the work area, under flagger control in alternating directions.

Officials noted that part of the resurfacing work will include adding a high-friction coating to the U.S. 131 road surface just north of the intersection with M-75 in Melrose Township. That coating is intended to address concerns about vehicles stopping and accelerating at the intersection following the expected installation of a traffic light there sometime in 2021.

Under the revised plan, crews will do the detour preparation work in the fall of this year with the goal of starting the main reconstruction project in Boyne Falls as soon as the weather allows in the spring of 2021.