Blue Water Area Transit is finishing the final phase of its $9.8 million Bus Transfer Center project. Contractors will complete the final pavement replacement” phase, involving improvements along Superior Mall and McMorran Boulevard, by July 8.
Crews from Raymond Excavating, Sherman Nursery, and Fessler & Bowman will complete their work before St. Clair County Community Mental Health opens its new Sail Away Café and convenience store at the transfer center. CMH will offer riders snacks and “last minute” grocery items in a retail setting and will also provide training for clients of the nonprofit agency.
“We are pleased that the transfer center project will also be finished before the start of Blue Water Fest,” adds Anita R. Ashford, Blue Water Area Transportation Commission Board vice chair and Port Huron City Council member. “It’s a busy time downtown during Port Huron’s signature summer event.”
During the week of April 18, workers started replacing curbs, gutters, and sidewalks on both sides of Superior Mall. During the week of May 23, they will start working on streets, walkways and lighting on both sides of McMorran Boulevard. New high power LED lighting fixtures (a total of 27) along the north and south sides of McMorran Boulevard feature lamps that capture the style of the early 1900’s. DTE will need to hook these lights up after they finish working on their downtown, BWAT will make both McMorran and Superior accommodate two-way traffic in two lanes. This represents a reduction to one lane in each direction for McMorran and an expansion from one-way to two-way traffic for Superior. The agency is paving both roads, as well as parking spaces on both sides of Superior Mall and most of the
“The paving portion of the work will be the project’s last major disruption of traffic in the area,” says Dave Frasier, BWAT director of procurement. “Other than minor electrical work and landscaping, we should be substantially complete by mid-July.”
BWAT is using deep strength asphalt and high strength concrete for walkways and curbs. The new Bus Transfer Center allows riders to connect with seven fixed-route buses that travel throughout the city of Port Huron and local townships, as well as local and express commuter routes to northern Macomb County.
“The new center has significantly improved our on-time performance, as well as comfort and convenience for passengers,” says Jim Wilson, BWAT general manager.
Officials point out that downtown Port Huron is very busy this summer with many ongoing projects in addition to BWAT’s Bus Transfer Center project. These include the Sperry’s building construction, DTE’s rewiring of the entire downtown area, and St. Clair County Community College’s work on the Junior Arena.
