A nighttime lane closure is planned later this week in downtown Howell as part of a large water main replacement project.

Two water main segments are being replaced within the central business district; the north side of Grand River from Chestnut to Walnut and then the north side of Grand River from State Street to Barnard. The project is being done in two stages and aims to improve water system reliability and fire flow conditions. Interim Howell City Manager Erv Suida tells WHMI the City is trying to get ahead of a project being done next year by the Michigan Department of Transportation that involves repaving Grand River from M-59 to the eastern City limits. He says work started last week and crews began installing new water main along the north side of Grand River in front of the Howell Carnegie District Library and the block by Kosin’s glass all the way to Walnut Street.

Suida says motorists can expect to encounter a nighttime lane closure on Grand River at Center Street around 9pm Thursday. He says crews will be working at the crossing at Center Street, from the north side of Grand River to the south side. Work should take most of the night but Suida says the plan is to have Grand River re-open in time for morning traffic. Another three to four weeks of construction is anticipated as part of the larger project. Suida says motorists may want to seek alternate routes if Grand River is part of their normal travel routine as it’s a busy road and there are a lot of lane shifts and flag control going on.

Weather permitting; the second stage should begin around October 7th with the entire project wrapping up in early November. There will be some points during construction that water will need to be shut down and all affected properties will be notified in advance. (JM)