RICHMOND TOWNSHIP — Commuters driving through Richmond Township on M–35 should be prepared to face a bit of new construction along their route.

The Michigan Department of Transportation is replacing old metal culverts that let a part of Warner Creek flow beneath the highway with a brand–new, fifteen by eight–foot concrete structure. A goal of the project is to provide a long–term replacement for the current design.

“These were culverts that had reached the end of their service life. They were starting to deteriorate and it was time to replace them. So we’re putting in this new concrete structure, which will have an anticpated service life of about fifty years or so,” said MDOT Superior Region Communications Representative Dan Weingarten. “The total cost of the project is around $930,000, so it’s a decent sized project.”

New guardrails and some repaving and repainting will round out the project. The construction will require traffic to be reduced to one lane.

“There will be a temporary traffic signal that will let you know when you can go,” added Weingarten. “We always try to keep the delays to less than ten minutes. Typically, you’ll just be waiting at that signal for a few minutes at a time.”

The work on this section of M–35 is expected to be complete by October 8th. Click here to find out more MDOT construction information.