Gun Lake Casino Interchange Construction Starting; And Good News

Normally, writing up a summer road construction story doesn't come with a lot of good news. But this one from Allegan County does.

Work is getting underway for the reconstruction of the US 131 and M-179 interchange, commonly known around here to locals as the Gun Lake Casino exit. Traffic around the overpass has gotten heavy enough to where the changes are necessary. And here's some more good news. The Gun Lake Tribe is funding the majority of this project.

“Rebuilding and improving this interchange is vital for this growing area and it helps meet the vision the Gun Lake Tribe has for their casino, their customers and their stakeholders, “said MDOT Grand Region Engineer Erick Kind. “The generosity from the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan is unprecedented and gives us a great opportunity to rebuild this bridge and interchange for all of Michigan.” - Michigan Department of Transportation release

This is a two year project that is slated to be done by November, 2022. The interchange will resemble the one at US 131 and Stadium Drive.

For long time area resident, this may give you a chuckle, but M-DOT says the "the new M-179 overpass will be ...a single point urban interchange (SPUI). This design helps move large volumes of traffic through limited amounts of space safely and efficiently." Thinking back maybe a decade and a half ago when this was simply an exit ramp to get to Yankee Springs, essentially in the middle of nowhere.

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If you've been there in the past couple of years, there's a surprising amount of traffic at times.