With reconstruction of Traverse City's East Front Street/Grandview Parkway project progressing slightly ahead of schedule, Team Elmer's is now well into phase two of the first segment that’s on track to wrap ahead of the National Cherry Festival.

Team Elmer's, the primary contractor for the $24.7 million Michigan Department of Transportation project, in mid-May concluded the first phase of Segment 1, which involved underground utility work, sidewalks, and paving the eastbound lanes from Front Street to Peninsula Drive, all lanes from Gilbert Street to Garfield Avenue, and all lanes on Garfield north of US-31. While high water posed a challenge for replacing deeply buried stormwater treatment structures, “we haven't found any surprises,” says Nick Broad, project manager for Team Elmer's.

“Overall, it's been relatively smooth,” adds Jim Johnson, MDOT's project director. “It's been a really good layout and plan we’ve been following.”

Read more about the construction to date and what comes next in the transformational road project in this week's Northern Express, sister publication of The Ticker. The Northern Express is available to read online, or pick up a free copy on newsstands at nearly 700 spots in 14 counties across northern Michigan.