Proposed Trowbridge Road Revisions have Neighborhood Residents Concerned
The Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) $204 million project along US-127 from I-96 to I-496 is raising concerns among East Lansing residents, especially from those who live in the neighborhoods near Trowbridge Road.
MDOT presented the project to the East Lansing Transportation Commission at the group’s Oct. 2 meeting, seeking a recommendation from the commission to present to City Council. The aspect of the project community members are concerned about is elimination of the median crossovers that are on Trowbridge Road and Arbor Drive and Trowbridge Road at Palmer Lane. These crossovers are proposed to be replaced with a new crossover several hundred feet west of Arbor Drive.
“Although, Trowbridge, this is personal, it hits your neighborhood, we know that,” House said. “There are some tough conversations about safety versus convenience.”
The main purpose of the three-phase project is safety and operational improvements.
The project is a part of MDOT’s Moving Michigan Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) campaign. The campaign involves “enhancing driver education, emergency response, enforcement, engineering policy, communications, and other efforts that will move Michigan closer to zero fatalities.”
MDOT Project Manager Dave Harrison, MDOT Projects, Contracts Engineer Jon Harden and Bergmann Associates Senior Vice President of Operations Rick Chelotti all took part in the presentation. They answered questions from community members and Transportation Commission members.
The project has been divided into three parts. The first part has been completed and includes bridge and roadway construction on the EB I-496 to NB US-127 ramp and the SB US-127 to WB I-49 ramp.
The 2023 to 2025 construction, the second phase, will include reconstruction of I-496/US-127 to I-96 to I-496.
The third and final part of the project will be undertaken in 2025 to 2026 and consist of the rehabilitation of US-127 from I-496 to I-69.
Although this is a state project, the City of East Lansing will be directly impacted by the reconstruction of the Dunckel Road and Trowbridge Road interchange ramps, reconstructing them from I-96 to I-496. As part of the reconstruction, MDOT has requested the use of the City of East Lansing’s right of way along Trowbridge Road and is requesting City Council’s approval in order to move forward.
Two changes are planned for Trowbridge Road by MDOT to “improve safety” adjacent to the ramps. These changes include the removal of the Arbor Drive cut through for eastbound movement and the Palmer Road indirect left for east bound movement. These alterations will reduce conflict points (locations where vehicle travel paths intersect) from 28 to 15, a 46% reduction, according to MDOT’s presentation.
Residents worry the configuration changes to Trowbridge Road could make travel more dangerous.
Despite MDOT’s pitch being rooted in safety improvements, some residents of impacted neighborhoods said the changes could make the roads more dangerous.
Concerns were expressed about an increase in traffic, especially on Michigan State University game days; there not being enough gaps in traffic coming out of the Arbor Lane neighborhood;, and people who do not live in the neighborhoods driving through the areas and potentially endangering residents and making the neighborhood itself less desirable.
Five members of the community expressed their concerns, prior to the MDOT presentation, about the ongoing project.
Jeffrey Friedle expressed his frustration with the lack of answers provided to the community regarding their concerns, and expressed a hope that alternative options be taken into consideration.
“When reviewing the accidents presented by MDOT, which was driving their decision, I think there are some alternatives that I hope were considered, or maybe should be considered,” Friedle said.
Some of the alternative solutions he suggested include no left-turn signs, forcing eastbound traffic to take a Michigan left; right turn only signs; an increase in traffic control; and guardrails at the base of exit ramps.
Sabrina Curley, a resident of Palmer Lane, was concerned about the lack of gaps in traffic that will make it difficult for her to exit her neighborhood and get to work on time.
“If these medians are eliminated, there is a likelihood that there will not be enough gaps in traffic for cars to come out of Palmer Lane and Arbor Forest,” Curley said.
Members of the Red Cedar neighborhood – made up of the Ivanhoe, Red Cedar and Flowerpot neighborhoods – expressed their concerns at the Council of Neighborhood Presidents (CoNP) and created a group letter to the Transportation Commission expressing their concerns.
Neighborhood leaders met with Michigan Sen. Sam Singh about their safety and traffic concerns prior to the creation of the letter and, as of Oct. 2, had not yet heard anything back.
The letter expresses the safety concern regarding the plan that requires “everyone coming out of the Ivanhoe neighborhood to turn right (west), immediately shift to the left lane, and do a U-turn into traffic coming fast off the highway.”
Ultimately, the Transportation Commission decided to move forward with MDOT’s plan, voting unanimously to send the plan to Council with three conditions, which take into consideration community members’ concerns:
- MDOT share existing and post-construction speed data with the RCCA.
- If the design of the project proves unsuccessful, MDOT will make modifications.
- A request for better speed enforcement along Trowbridge Road.
At the Oct. 10 City Council meeting, the plan was presented to Council by House.
“What’s going to be built by MDOT, it’s going to be modern construction, cars will be moving faster, but they have mitigation measures to make this a safe end product,” House said.
The specific concerns brought to the attention of Council at the meeting were those that affected Arbor Drive and Palmer Lane, with the requirement of a new “Michigan left” 800 feet to the west of Arbor Drive as a result of the removal of these two medians.
Following the Oct. 10 meeting, MDOT representatives and Bergmann indicated they will return to Council with updates on peak hour volumes, wait times in traffic and further insight into the traffic warrant analysis. The matter is expected to come back before Council at a future date.