After months of construction that had closed Main Street in Downtown Brighton, the main portion of the road has reopened.
“We’re so happy to report Main Street is open from Grand River to Hyne Street!,” stated a social media post by the city on Tuesday. “On-street parking is open as well. West bound traffic is detoured through Hyne Street from Main Street.”
The Streetscape Project completely replaced a more than 100-year-old water main underneath the roadway, installed a storm sewer system, added new curb and gutter and redesigned sidewalks for ADA compliance. It also updated landscaping, provided new directional signs, improved crosswalks, lighting, and bicycle parking areas, new directional signs, and the addition of LED lighting. Active construction began on January 9th, with the project slated to be completed by November.
Speaking last Friday on the Mike & Jon podcast, Brighton DDA Chairman Tim Corrigan said despite what some have said, the project was thoroughly vetted and thought through.
”The project started back in 2018 when Nate Geinzer was city manager and help kick this project off,” he said. “A lot of time and effort and planning went into it. There were several public meetings, all our DDA meetings, we had input from the merchants up and down Main Street. A lot of that revolved around even the timing of how we were going to do phases of the street. The reason why it was completely shut down, that was really a decision that was through the input of the Main Street merchants to say, ‘Hey, let’s get it shut down completely so we can get done quicker rather than be disrupted longer.’”
Officials noted that trees and other plantings will be in place towards the end of Main Street construction, with a “final reveal” planned for later this year.
