196 and 131 Interchange Update

J.R. Richard with the Michigan Department of Transportation joins us to discuss a timeline to fix the ramp from 196 Westbound to 131 Southbound. 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Listen, thousands of truck drivers go through here every day,
and our caps are off right, they put food on
the table. It's such an just two of them are
making bad headlines, and one of which now has closed
a ramp for what may be a long time, although
we're hearing there may be a little work around. This
is West Michigan's morning News. I hope it involves duct tapes.

(00:20):
To you, Kelly and Brett. Makita Jr. Richard joins us
with the Michigan Department of Transportation. It's m Davida, good morning,
Thanks for doing this today. What the heck happened? Give
us a little recap again, and then we'll talk what
we've recently learned about opening the thing back up again.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Well, it sounds like the truck was driving two fast
four conditions and this time it was not a negligent
high load hit, thankfully. So this one, this person just
lost control. We're not sure why. Like you said, thousands
of trucks and vehicles made it through there just fine.
But he had a heavy load. He had sandbags and
gravel bags and all kinds of landscaping stop so it

(01:00):
was a really heavy low. There was just debris and
material all over the place, and he blasted through the guardrail.
He lost control, blasted through the guardrail, slid along that
station beam, and then slammed into the abutment. So there
was damage to the beams and to the abutment, and
he hit the bridge so hard that I'm at off
ramp from westbound one ninety six to southbound one thirty one.

(01:22):
It lifted up the approach up up top where that
ramp meets southbound one thirty one, So there's a lot
of work to do. That April thirtieth date was just
kind of picked just to get a date out there
a quickly as possible, just to get the word out
that it was closed. But at the latest check and
I've got an inquiry into the bridge guys this morning

(01:43):
to see if I can get a better date. But
yesterday they were saying hopefully by the first or second
week in January, we'll get that ramps back open, because
again we just fixed it. It was our big rehab project
of the year, you know, one point three million dollars
maintenance project to fix those bridge bridges above of eastbound one,
and that was one of them that we just fixed.

Speaker 3 (02:04):
And he just smacked it, John, when you look at it,
I know you had to come out with that, you know,
just to kind of let people know. And then the
timeline was as we went through the day that we're
moving it up to you know, maybe a temporary fixed
at least open things up around the new year. Talk
about that a little bit correct.

Speaker 2 (02:21):
Yeah, so they're gonna do some temporary supports to get
that thing open as quickly as possible, and then we'll
come back in the spring when the weather's more conducive
for construction, because of course when it's called everything just
doesn't work as well.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
Do you get a bill for that? How does that?
Is that just part of operating in West Michigan.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
I mean, if you well, the insurance of the trucking
company is on the hook for the repair bill.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
Interesting because if you've got to be rescued at Sleeping
Bear Doom, we all know there's this and maybe we
should put signs up. Let's say you go way the
heck too fast through here, Jack your insurance.

Speaker 2 (02:59):
We do. We have little clever rhymes like ice and snow,
take it slow, all kinds of stuff to remind people.
So it's it's on a driver's dribbery. Responsibility is crucial
and that seems to have gone out the window the
last I don't know what ten years. People are tailgating,
road raging, speeding, taking chances, driving too fast. It's insane

(03:20):
how people drive. And one is the busiest interchange in
Michigan outside of Detroit.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
Anything outside of that, talk about with winter driving and safety,
we've had several news stories about looking out for those
flashing green lights and to be awful, careful. I mean,
it's winter, for Heaven's sakes, let's be careful.

Speaker 2 (03:41):
Yeah, you gotta slow down. What's the other one? We say,
when the temperature drops, social of your speed. So there's
all kinds of reminders. And I know there's new drivers
out there and there's older drivers out there, but you know,
we all we're all the same road. We all have
to work together. And that's it's tough. You get all
the individual personalities of the gramma that wants to go
slow and the twenty year old wants to go as

(04:03):
fast as he possibly can. So it's I'm waiting for
the robots to take over, honestly, because when that happens,
there's gonna be a lot less crashes.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
All right, so we all got something to look forward to.

Speaker 2 (04:13):
Jr.

Speaker 1 (04:14):
Richard do great stuff as always, Thanks for your time today.

Speaker 2 (04:18):
Oh, Happy holidays kids,