Flint, MI—Long-promised restoration work on Saginaw Street, downtown Flint’s main thoroughfare, is set to start on April 10, 2023.
According to an April 6 City of Flint press release, the project—which will see the roadway’s bricks restored, intersections and accessibility updated and water main upgraded—will start this upcoming Monday and focus on the segment of Saginaw Street between Court Street and Third Street.
The release notes that northbound traffic will be detoured to Harrison Street and southbound traffic will be detoured to Beach Street. It also states that Fourth Street will be closed between Harrison Street and Saginaw Street for the first phase of the project.
Previously, city engineer Mark Adas told Flint Beat the street’s construction plan calls for completing restoration “one block at a time” so as to minimize disruption to downtown businesses, patrons and annual events like Back to the Bricks and the Crim Festival of Races throughout construction.
In the City’s update, there is now a planned pause on the project in August for those events, with work expected to begin again after Labor Day when crews will tackle the segment of Saginaw Street from Third Street to Second Street.
The over $7.5 million project is being funded through the Michigan Department of Transportation, the City of Flint’s Major Roads Fund and money from the federal Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN Act).
According to the City’s press release, the whole of the project is expected to take place over two years and replace 80 to 90 percent of the sidewalks along Saginaw Street in addition to the other earlier-reported upgrades.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include information provided by the City of Flint after publication.
It was done not to long ago.