Construction delays continue to plague Grand Rapids as the planned closure of southbound US-131 at Burton Street has met with yet another postponement due to inclement weather. Originally scheduled to close on Sunday, the southward section of the freeway now faces a tentative shutdown on Tuesday at 9 a.m., an adjustment that marks the second recalibration of its timeline.

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has dictated that the southbound closure, integral to a $6.2 million push to rehabilitate two bridges spanning the intricate web of Plaster Creek, is predicted to persist until May 24. Swept in with the closure is a sweep of accompanying ramp shutdowns, including impacts to Leonard Street/Turner Avenue and the Pearl Street ramp, all subject to extended closure until late May—a disruption outlined in the details by WOODTV and reiterated by 13 ON YOUR SIDE.

MDOT's advised detour routes, marked by navigational turns from westbound I-196 to eastbound M-6 and back onto southbound US-131, present as a temporary salve to traveling woes, directing traffic around downtown's congested arteries while construction bears down on the thoroughfare’s structural integrity. Ramps from southbound US-131 to the bustling veins of eastbound and westbound I-196 will also shutter throughout Tuesday, corralling the city's transit flow through a web of secondary veins unaccustomed to such burdens

As drivers brace for the disruption, ramps from Wealthy Street to SB US-131 join the list of arteries to be severed from the main traffic stream from April 30 through May 15—a detail confirmed by FOX 17. Amidst these upheavals, MDOT remains steady in its narrative, urging patience and highlighting the structural improvements slated for completion by mid-September, promising safer, more reliable transit for the future. In the present, Grand Rapids motorists face the assurance of uncertainty, contending with closures and detours that loom with every delayed onset of the rain-sodden Michigan spring.