MDOT staff, public meeting to discuss future of US-131 and I-96

On Thursday March 6, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will host a public meeting from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Rockford Construction Community Center. The meeting will focus on discussing the future reconstruction of US-131 and I-96 in Kent County over the next 20 years.

The event gives the public and interested stakeholders an opportunity to interface with MDOT employees and provide input, ideas and concern about the future of these highways in an open house format meeting. According to MDOT, public involvement will provide an important role in the development of the project and first steps include the evaluation of various transportation issues in the corridors, preliminary environmental impacts, and funding constraints.

"There are dozens of options as for what to do with US131. What the community wants MDOT to do is step back, slow down and rethink 131," says Josh Leffingwell, the founder of the urbanist community group, The Salon. "We can't just keep rebuilding infrastructure at costs in the hundreds of millions without even doing a study to determine whether US131 is necessary, efficient or the best use of public dollars." 

MDOT is currently undertaking a Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) initiative to, "Evaluate preservation, operational and capacity improvement options, and identify project segments for potential future con­sideration and further analysis."

An additional meeting will be held Wednesday March, 12 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Walker Fire Station. Additional meetings will continued to be scheduled through the duration of the study.