Fortunately, traffic is far lighter than normal anyway, however restrooms at a number of Michigan Welcome Centers, including the one at New Buffalo, will be shut down beginning on Saturday and remain closed through Sunday, May 10th due to state employee layoffs.
The Michigan Department of Transportation says that restrooms at five additional Michigan Welcome Centers will be closed for that two week period as the result of the layoff of MDOT employees who clean and sanitize those facilities.
The restrooms at MDOT’s New Buffalo, Sault Ste. Marie, Monroe, Coldwater, and Detroit Welcome Centers will be closed for the two-week period. During the facility closures the ramps and parking lots will be closed as well, due to security and sanitary concerns, with the exception of the Detroit Welcome Center, which has a shared parking lot. The restrooms at these Welcome Centers are currently expected to reopen on Monday, May 11th.
Elsewhere in the state restrooms at the Marquette, Ironwood, St. Ignace, Mackinaw City, Dundee, Clare, and Port Huron Welcome Centers will remain open. Restroom maintenance in those facilities is provided by private contractors.
Two other Welcome Center facility restrooms had already been closed: Menominee, due to no separation between the restrooms and the information lobby, and Iron Mountain because it shares space in a closed facility.
Most of the state’s other 63 rest areas remain open at this time, with the exception of five that are closed seasonally (St. Ignace, Topinabee, Hebron, Ludington, and Hart) and one that is closed due to drainage issues (Chelsea). MDOT’s roadside parks, which are closed seasonally, remain closed at this time.
In accordance with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ recommendations designed to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), MDOT closed the information lobbies of all Michigan Welcome Centers as of March 13th until further notice.
The state is taking proactive steps to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Michigan, and appreciates everyone’s understanding and cooperation in reducing the coronavirus risk to Michigan residents.
