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MDOT delays Heron Avenue reconstruction; road‑diet and protected bike track trial set for spring 2027
Summary
Michigan Department of Transportation told the Port Huron City Council that bids for the I‑94 Business Loop (Heron Avenue) work will go out in October, pushing a one‑year road‑diet and two‑way protected bike track trial to spring 2027 and the downtown reconstruction to 2028.
Thomas Anderson, project manager for the Michigan Department of Transportation, briefed the Port Huron City Council on reconstruction and a related road‑diet trial for the I‑94 Business Loop (Heron Avenue) through downtown.
Anderson said the work is composed of two linked efforts: a near‑term ‘trial’ that will reconfigure traffic from two lanes each way to one lane in each direction with a center left‑turn lane and add a two‑way protected bicycle track on the east side, and a later full reconstruction of the downtown corridor from the Black River bridge to Glenwood Avenue. "I'm Thomas Anderson with Michigan Department of Transportation. I'm the project manager for the I‑94 business loop reconstruction in the city of Port Huron," he said.
The reconstruction scope includes removing and replacing pavement, curb and gutter, traffic signals and storm sewer, upgrading sidewalks and intersections to meet ADA standards, repairing the Bascu lift bridge over the Black River and coordinating utility replacements being undertaken by the city. For the road‑diet trial, MDOT plans delineators (plastic posts) between the parking lane and the protected bicycle track and signal modifications at intersections.
Anderson attributed the schedule shift to funding and materials delays. Bids that MDOT had expected in April will instead be advertised in October. The agency plans to begin the road‑diet/bike‑track trial in spring 2027 and monitor traffic for roughly a year before proceeding with downtown reconstruction in 2028. "Our bids are going to be in October and that means everything has to be pushed back," he said.
The council did not record formal questions that altered the plan during the presentation. The trial’s intent, MDOT said, is to test whether a single travel lane each way with a center turn lane and a protected bike facility improves safety and multimodal access in the corridor before the larger reconstruction occurs.
Next steps include the advertised bidding process this fall, continuing coordination with city utilities, and a public evaluation period during the one‑year trial in 2027.
