Construction projects scramble traffic in Kalamazoo

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — An unusually busy road construction season in Kalamazoo has made it difficult for drivers to get around.

The work has been a challenge for businesses like the Victorian Bakery on North Park Street. Despite the detours, some customers like Steve Leuty have been coming in to the small business to show their support.

“I had to approach from three different angles before I finally was able to come down Willard, which looks like an alley. But luckily, I know the roads enough to get here, otherwise I don’t think I would have ever been able to figure out how to get here,” Leuty said.

Maria Brennan, the owner of the bakery, said the signage can be confusing.

“We’ve received a lot of messages that it’s been too difficult to get to us, that the road construction has been frustrating for the past few years. But they are upgrading the system so I think it’s just something we have to bear with and get it done,” Brennan said.

The Victorian Bakery has dealt with many road projects in a short amount of time and has seen a financial impact.

“We’re down about 20%, which has impacted us. Fortunately, our customers have been stocking up at the farmers markets in Texas Township and at Bank Street farmers market and that has really helped,” Brennan said.

Dennis Randolph, a traffic engineer with the city, said the atypical number of projects is for a variety of reasons.

“This is actually a really big year for construction with a lot of different types of work going on,” Randolph said. “We have the normal street projects that they we’ve been doing, but we have some big water and sewer improvements projects that involve the streets … that unfortunately have been delayed because of the supply chain issues that everybody heard about.”

The city has also received millions in grant funding that have requirements on when the money can be spent. Randolph said those funds are being used for planning and will be used to pay for more projects in the coming years.

Also adding to the number of projects: the arena being built downtown .

“There’s a time frame the event center is moving its private dollars. It’s got to move along,” Randolph said.

The city is asking for patience as they adjust signs and work through the projects.

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