US-41/Commerce Drive Light & Construction Complete

A Marquette Township intersection that had long been on MDOT’s drawing board has now made its way off.

The new traffic light at the intersection of US-41 and Commerce Drive is up and running.

The new light is fully operational with green, amber and red signals in all traffic directions.

Drivers may recall the traffic light at the westwood mall entrance.

When the extension of Commerce Drive just east of the Westwood Mall was completed, MDOT crews shut off and removed the light leading into the mall entrance.

Construction projects may slow down next year.

A steady decline in gas tax revenue over the past decade has led to a shortfall in Michigan’s road construction budget, which could result in the loss of many projects and the jobs that go with them by 2012.

MDOT projects the 2012 repair budget at $626 million, which would be the first time since 1996 that the road budget would be below $1 billion.