Road construction projects on tap for the Copper Country

The Michigan Department of Transportation held a public meeting Monday to discuss plans for upcoming road construction projects in the Copper Country.

The meeting was one of three being held in the Upper Peninsula to keep communities informed about programs like the Five Year Bridge and Road Program.

The Portage Lake Lift Bridge Rehab Project was one of the major projects discussed.

MDOT communications representative Dan Weingarten said it will likely begin this upcoming winter.  “That’s going to entail replacing lift cables and doing some other structural work on the bridge. Also, security upgrades, painting and a number of other smaller things.”

MDOT is working on setting up alert systems through social media to keep drivers informed about possible delays.  Some might be concerned about how the weather factors into those delays, but MDOT officials say they’re taking all of the necessary precautions.

“I’ve asked our people working on that project about it and they do not anticipate any difficulties because of the winter.  It’s hard to predict what kind of winter we’re going to have but this is work that needs to be done,” Weingarten said.

Projects that will begin this summer include the reconstruction of M-26 from the Portage Lake Lift Bridge to Dollar Bay, and the Ironwood Streetscape Project, which will be a complete renovation of U.S. 2 through downtown Ironwood.

For complete details on all of the road projects in the U.P., head to michigan.gov/mdot.