Series of Infrastructure Investments Starting May 13 Downtown
Published on May 08, 2024
A series of utility projects will be taking place in the northwest part of downtown this summer. These projects will prepare for the coming event center and include coordinated upgrades to gas, electric, water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities that will increase reliability and prepare Kalamazoo for future growth.
Work will start on Monday, May 13 on Westnedge Ave between Kalamazoo Ave and Michigan Ave, requiring this section of the street to close to through traffic.
Cooley St and Eleanor St have been vacated to make way for the event center, so the developers, CD Arena LLC, must reroute the utilities that run underneath those streets. While this rerouting is taking place, the City of Kalamazoo is taking the opportunity to oversize the water and wastewater utilities to create redundancy and improve the reliability of those utility systems. By coordinating oversizing with the event center's rerouting, $2.675 million of assets will be contributed to the City of Kalamazoo’s utility systems for an investment of less than $300,000 by City public utilities.
Coordinated with this work, Consumers Energy will be making a number of upgrades to their gas and electric utilities in this area. A new duct bank will be installed under Kalamazoo Ave, Water St, and Park St, and other improvements will be made nearby. The Consumers Energy substation on Cooley St will also be expanded as part of a $5.2 million investment to improve reliability and supply power for future developments, including the event center.
The different utility upgrades will be completed in phases and coordinated with other nearby projects to minimize disruption to traffic. Still, they will require a mix of lane reductions and full closures, and drivers in this area should anticipate delays and seek alternate routes when possible. Signed detours will direct drivers around active construction areas. Local access will be maintained for homes and businesses in the area.
The schedules of nearby work on Ransom St and Michikal St will also be coordinated to make sure detour routes are available. Access will be maintained for homes and businesses in the area.
Maps showing the project overview, current work areas, and detours will be posted online at www.kalamazoocity.org/DowntownUtilities, along with additional information. Community members can also use that page to subscribe to updates.