Meridian Road Connector and Bridge opens in Sanford

This morning after church, I had a chance to travel the new "Meridian Road Connector" just outside of Sanford. This was a project that was decades in the making but finally got off the ground this last year. To accomplish this, the following was done...

• The curve from NB Meridian Road to WB West Wackerly Rd. was eliminated. In it's place is a standard intersection. This is the southern point of the project.
• All of Meridian Road from M-20 to the project's northern point was repaved and widened slightly to meet modern traffic standards.
• The Pere Marquette Rail Trail was slightly rerouted so it would fit under the new bridge.
• A portion of Wackerly Rd. that ran along the Rail Trail no longer connects to the main highway. It is now a court.

Here are some of the pictures I took today...

This is northbound Meridian Road between M-20 and Olson Rds. The road is recently repaved to accomodate the new project.

Northbound Meridian at the intersection of Wackerly (westbound only). This comes complete with a center turning lane.

From Meridian Road to W. Wackerly - this is where the old curve used to be.

The new bridge. This is a view from the south, looking north. Lamps greet visitors to the new bridge along with a small banner attached to the lamps that welcomes visitors to the new "Meridian Road Connector" from the county Road Commission.

A copy of the map borrowed from Goog le Maps. The new highway is highlighted in orange as is the slightly rerouted W. Wackerly where the curve used to be. You can see where the Sanford Wackerly Rd. has been whited out.

All we need now is for the state of Michigan to get off it's collective hind end and re-instate the M-30 designation last used in 1962 from US-10 to at least M-20 or all the way to M-46 at the Saginaw / Gratiot county line...