Relocation project for Lakeshore Blvd. in Marquette to cost $8 million

Plans to relocate Lakeshore Boulevard in Marquette continue to move forward.

The City of Marquette held a public meeting to present a design for the relocation of the road from Wright Street to Hawley Street.  The city took input from residents to create the design, resulting in moving the road inland, creating boardwalks and viewing platforms near the water, and improving rock armor along the shoreline.

“What (the plan) accomplishes is bringing the elevation up (of Lakeshore Boulevard) so people can enjoy the views of the lake, which was one of the top priorities in the survey,” Director of Planning and Community for the City of Marquette Dennis Stachewicz said.  “It allows the public to use space that’s not able to be utilized as such of right now, which was also important to them in their survey, as well as providing a balance of engineer controls and natural restoration of the shoreline.”

The project is estimated to cost $8 million, which is one of the cheaper options  proposed to the city.

“When you look at the cost to do nothing, is $5.5 million because the existing revetment is failing and that would need to be addressed at sometime as well, so we tried to keep the cost relatively low,” Stachewicz said.  “I know when you hear $8 million it doesn’t seem like that, but compared to the other costs out there we feel that we’ve done a good job at balancing all the community desires and keeping the costs–in what I would consider–a respectable amount in today’s dollars.”

There is no timetable for when the construction would start, or be completed.

To view the plan, click here.