12/13/13 - A special meeting was held in the Northfield Township Hall last night to let Michigan Department of Transportation officials explain to residents a unique project proposed for US-23. MDOT is proposing that, when US-23 between Silver Lake Road and I-94 is repaired in 2016, an active traffic management system, or ATM, be installed as well. The system would create a series of signs informing drivers which lanes were open and which were closed in real time. Then, during weekday mornings, the median shoulder on the southbound side would be opened to traffic as a third lane, and the same would be done for the northbound side in the evenings, alleviating congestion. While this would be the first such system to be installed in Michigan, MDOT officials say it has been used with great success in states like Illinois and Washington. At about $65 million, $38 million of which would be for the ATM system, the project would alleviate congestion on US-23 at about a third of the estimated cost of adding a third lane to both sides. Residents at last night's meeting asked a number of questions related to the project, such as how it compares to other management options, the impacts on traffic and sound in the surrounding areas, and the construction process. Several of them openly expressed their support for their project, saying it alleviates a longstanding problem economically and without increasing traffic on side roads. Some residents had reasons to oppose the project, including concerns about noise from increased traffic flow or claims that it did not do enough to improve transportation options for people who rely on mass transit. (TD)
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