Birmingham road construction project nears end

After a long four and a half months, downtown Birmingham's road construction project is nearing the finish line.

The project has shut down Old Woodward from Willits to Brown streets, and Maple Road essentially through downtown, as the roads required a complete reconstruction, similar to Pierce Street and Hamilton in previous years. These areas had some of the oldest water and sewer lines in Birmingham, as well as a streetscape that was on a different grade than the road. Much of this current infrastructure was installed in the 1940s and has exceeded its useful life – with some sewers dating to the 1890s.

Besides improvements, a center median has been added to Old Woodward along with bump outs at cross walks.

With a projected completion date of early August, over 80 percent of construction is complete, with sidewalks being finished along Old Woodward, signals being installed at Maple and Old Woodward, and then the final touches of landscaping will be installed in newly formed planter boxes.

Birmingham had budgeted over $7 million for the extensive road reconstruction project.