As the Michigan Department of Transportation prepares to start work on the extension of US-31 to I-94, the Berrien County Board of Commissioners has signaled its support for part of the plan that will affect Empire Avenue. MDOT’s Nick Schirripa tells WSJM News when US-31 is extended to Empire, Empire will become a cul-de-sac.
“Currently, Empire Avenue is a through street, and so it connects across where US-31 will be,” Schirripa said. “So, we have to either build a bridge, or in this case, cul-de-sac Empire Avenue.”
And Schirripa says not building a bridge for Empire over US-31 would save millions. After a study, it was determined that making Empire a cul-de-sac would not be detrimental to the area.
“We were trying to determine if that was necessary, if there were enough local crossings. We didn’t need a bridge over every road going over US-31.”
Schirripa says local emergency agencies have indicated there are other routes they could take without greatly affecting their response times. A resolution approved by the Berrien County Board of Commissioners on Thursday makes note of that. It also says MDOT’s plan to repave parts of Benton Center, Hillendale, and Britain as part of the project helps the county get more of its roads in fair to good condition. Schirripa says the US-31 project will start next year and finish in 2023.
