The Michigan Department of Transportation is advising drivers that the eastbound I-94 exit to Niles Road in St. Joseph — that’s Exit 27 — will be closing next week for a couple of months.
MDOT spokesperson Nick Schirripa tells us as the three-year, $204 million project to rebuild 8.5 miles of I-94 in the area continues, it’s now that ramp’s turn to be shut down so it can be reconstructed. The ramp will close on Tuesday with the detour to be Exit 28.
“So it’s not a terribly long detour and relatively simple to get back to Niles Avenue, if that is the destination,” Schirripa said. “We can get folks back to that interchange on the local street side.”
Schirripa says the ramp isn’t being reconfigured or redesigned. It’s just being rebuilt. Although this will be a major headache for drivers heading into St. Joe from areas to the west, he says there is good news.
“This is the final year of the project overall. So we’re getting close to the end. Everything — and I don’t want to jinx it — but everything seems to be on track for time of completion. So one more year of patience and we’ll be out of the way.”
The eastbound I-94 Exit 27 ramp to Niles Avenue will close Tuesday and remain closed through Friday, July 24.
Meanwhile, nearby businesses are also finding the ramp closure to be unwelcome news. We checked in with Moe’s Southwest Grill, which is located right by Exit 27. Assistant Manager Sunner told us she was unaware the exit was closing until we reached out. She says this closure will affect business at Moe’s, just like ramp closures last summer affected them.
“Just last summer, it was slow,” Sunner said. “I don’t know if it could also be the economy while we’re slow this season, but construction’s not helping either.”
Sunner says in the summer, especially, a lot of business comes in the form of people getting off the freeway.
The other nearby businesses — Five Guys, Panera, and Hoopla Frozen Yogurt — will also no doubt feel a pinch. Sunner feels the same way about the I-94 project as many.
“I’ll be glad when it’s done.”
Sunner says, as far as she knows, MDOT didn’t notify the nearby businesses about the impending ramp closure. MDOT tells us it seeks to get the information out as best as it can, for example, by speaking with the media.
Drivers who want to avoid the hazardous construction zone around Exit 28, where the highway splits, could get off at Red Arrow Highway in Stevensville and take the sideroads, rather than the interstate.
