Drive with caution as M-DOT works begins on major roadways

Joanne Williams
Editor

(Joanne Williams/TCJ – Roadwork on different ends of M-50 and M-79 are scheduled to begin in some of the areas busiest roadways.)

Orange cones and signs are usually not appreciated by travelers on the roads, yet the improvements these projects bring are welcomed soon after the clutter disappears. Take a look at the recent work done on M-78 traveling into Bellevue from I-69 – new bicycle lanes and all.

Now, drivers in and around Charlotte are seeing Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) work on M-50 and M-79.

The M-50 work in Eaton Rapids closes traffic in each direction between Broad and South Street on the river side. There will be marked detours. Work continues through Oct. 15.

A water main project closes a section of Main Street as well.

Both the northbound and southbound lanes of Main Street (M-50) will be closed to traffic between Broad and South streets from Sept. 28 to Oct. 15, according to MDOT.

A mid-September schedule for M-79 begins this week and will be producing single-lane closures on some of Charlotte’s heavily traveled roads through at least Nov. 15. Most of the work will be during weekdays in the mornings and early afternoons. There is a M-79 restriction, according to MDOT, that does not allow work from 3 to 6 p.m.

The work is being done, said MDOT, “to provide safer driving surfaces and ADA compliant sidewalks.”

According to Michigan Highways, “M-50 was once a “Coast-to-Coast” trans-peninsular highway, extending from Monroe on Lake Erie to the small hamlet of Agnew near the Lake Michigan shore in Ottawa Co south of Grand Haven. In the 1964, M-50 was truncated at I-96 near Lowell east of Grand Rapids and all of the former M-50 from Grand Rapids westerly toward Lake Michigan was re-designated as M-45.”

Also, according to Michigan Highways, M-79 does not have a storied name or past, beginning just southeast of Hastings and traveling to Charlotte. No portion of the road is a national or memorial highway, nor is it a freeway or expressway.

Drivers are reminded to slow down in all construction hours, for the safety of all, but especially the MDOT workers. The Michigan Legal Center reports that “Three Michigan road workers have died during the 2026 road-work season.”