KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Work is now underway on the first phase of the Streets For All makeover of downtown Kalamazoo’s one-way streets and is expected to continue during construction seasons over the next four years at least.
City Manager Malcolm Hankins says it will be one of the largest investments in the downtown in decades.
“Today marks an important milestone for our community,” says Hankins. “The Kalamazoo Avenue construction project is the culmination of a vision that has been discussed for generations.”
How do you minimize the impact on drivers? Utilities director Jim Baker says by doing it in small bites.
“So we’re gonna be working kind of in smaller block by block segments,” he says. “We don’t anticipate to have more than an area probably two to three blocks under construction at any given time.”
Anyone who drives Kalamazoo Avenue near the new sports arena has already been putting up with lane constrictions for the past few weeks, because of the expansion of that project.
Baker says their plan is to keep at least one lane open.
“There could be times where we’ve gotta make a utility tie in or there’s something underground that we didn’t expect if that is the case we’ll advertise that there’s gonna be some sort of closure and we’ll advertise what that closure looks like.”
He says there could be the closure of some north south streets when they have to lay down utilities.
“I will note that there’s no plans to close Park Street, all that work was done last year and the year before both with water and with underground electricity.”
The work will be focused on Kalamazoo Avenue this year and next, with construction moving over to Michigan Avenue in subsequent years.
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