Great news for Canton residents dreading Ford Rd. boulevard project

The much-anticipated (and widely-dreaded) Ford Road boulevard project has been pushed back for the third time to 2028 at the earliest, the Michigan Department of Transportation revealed.

MDOT’s plan to replace the center turn lane on Ford Road from I-275 to Sheldon Road to cut down on the number of vehicle crashes on the corridor was originally projected to begin in late 2021 or early 2022.

MDOT Project Manager Adam Penzenstadler revealed at a community forum at the Summit on the Park in April of 2022 that the start of construction would be moved back to 2024 due to design process delays and the fact that MDOT was still gathering input from the community.

A public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Summit. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet the project’s design team and learn details about the project.

“This is an unusual project with three agencies involved: the township, the county and the state,” explained MDOT’s Diane Cross. “There needs to be quite a bit of utility relocation and procuring the right-of-way needed for the project. All of that has delayed the project.”

“Crashes on Ford Road far exceed the number of crashes on other roadways in the region,” Petzenstadler said.

Enhancing safety

Petzenstadler said the elimination of direct left turns throughout the corridor should significantly enhance safety.

Although Ford Road will remain open throughout the project with single-lane traffic both east- and west-bound, business owners and drivers who frequent the roadway are dreading the one-year-plus construction project due to the further congestion it will create.

If the project does start in early 2028, it would be completed in 2029, MDOT said.

For more information on the project, click here.

Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.