Construction scheduled tonight in the Brighton area will cause some traffic headaches for motorists this weekend.

The Livingston County Road Commission advises pavement rehabilitation work will get underway on Challis Road between Grand River and Karl Griemel Drive in Genoa Township staring at 8:00 tonight, lasting through 6am Monday. The work involves base repair, adjusting drainage structures, milling existing pavement and then replacing with new asphalt. The Road Commission advises there will be a major traffic impact. From 8pm tonight until 6am Saturday, milling of the existing asphalt will take place. During daylight hours Saturday, base repair and adjusting the drainage structures will occur with lane closures. Paving will then take place from roughly 8pm Saturday until 6am.

All of the weekend work will be done until traffic regulator control and is weather permitting. Motorists are being encouraged to seek alternate routes as long delays are expected. Officials say evening work will hinder access to side streets and commercial properties. Motorists are encouraged to use the posted Brighton Road detour. Access to Target will be via Grand River.

But there is good news for haggard motorists who have had to go several miles out of their way because of the construction. According to city DPW Director Marcel Goch, Challis will tentatively be reopened to traffic next Wednesday, July 25. Goch says the road work is a month ahead of schedule, thanks to favorable weather. The primary reason for the Challis Road project is the new University of Michigan Brighton Health Center South medical complex. The 297,000-square-foot facility, costing an estimated $175 million, is scheduled to open right after Labor Day.

To handle the expected increase in traffic, the Livingston County Road Commission embarked on a project in April to completely reconstruct Challis Road and make other improvements from Grand River to the railroad tracks.

The road commission has already completed extensive roadway improvements including softening curves and hills and improving drainage, and has installed new pavement from the railroad tracks to Karl Greimel Drive. The $2.1-million project is being funded primarily by the road commission through its 2018-19 budget, plus MDOT and federal dollars, with the city of Brighton and its Downtown Development Authority also pitching in financially.

Photo: Google Street View. (JM/TT)