By EVM Staff
Flint’s Saginaw Street will reopen to vehicle traffic this week after over a year of construction work along the downtown thoroughfare.
The City of Flint announced the reopening will happen ahead of schedule, originally assumed to be early August, in time for upcoming summer events like the Crim Festival of Races, Back to the Bricks, and Bikes on the Bricks.
“The infrastructure improvements we’ve made to Saginaw Street will ensure that downtown Flint is a thriving business district for generations to come, attracting commerce, residents, and visitors,” Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley said in a press release one July 18, 2024. “I am so proud of our beautiful, unique streetscape, and I encourage everyone to come back downtown, have dinner, catch a show, support our local businesses, and enjoy the atmosphere.”
The street’s restoration work broke ground in April 2023, after years of planning and funding efforts. Since then, the roadway has been restored brick-by-brick and all its underground utilities have been upgraded from Court Street to the Flint River.
The project also replaced a 100-year-old water main and all water service line connections to businesses, as well as upgraded electrical infrastructure with new conduits for the street’s lights and meters. In addition, two gas mains, all tree grates, and about 90% of sidewalks along the historic roadway have been replaced.
The restoration effort drew criticism last summer, both due to a material mistake that resulted in crews having to go back and re-lay portions of completed street segments and multiple business owners expressing dismay at unannounced street closures, water shut-offs, and the construction’s impact on their usual summer business.
As of press time, the project is listed as 98% complete according to a website set up to track its progress, and “all of the bricks have been relaid” according to the city’s press release.
The completed project will mark the first time since 1936 that Saginaw Street’s original bricks (from 1898) were picked up and completely relaid, aside from the roadway’s intersections, which have been repaved with brick-stamped concrete “to reduce wear and tear on the road, since vehicles push the bricks to the side when they turn at intersections” according the release.
The overall project was funded through Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), the City of Flint’s Major Roads Fund, and the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN), which provided about $2.3 million, $3.4 million, and $2.8 million for the project, respectively.
