As Betty Jo and I headed to Elk Rapids this morning she pointed out that there was an awful lot of work going on alongside US-31. She thought it would make a pretty good blog post. Oh, I said airily, I think they’re just improving the intersections. Well. Upon further investigation I discovered that Betty Jo, whose vision does not permit her to drive, can read the evidence in front of her a lot better than I can.
The project is not enormous, but it will last well into September. Besides all the intersection improvements, there will be “chipping and stoning” going on. Heaven only knows what that will involve, but beginning next week (July 18 onward) you can expect intermittent lane closures between the northern edge of Elk Rapids and Campbell Road.
Much to the relief of Miss Sadie and the Cowboy, the Birch Lake Roadside Park will remain open while the entrance/exit drive gets a makeover. The Guys on the Job assured me that the redesign will make it much safer.
There will be Flag People standing out there in the hot sun flipping the sign from SLOW to STOP. Be nice. They have a hard job, alternating between tedium and danger. If you are a person who does not deal well with lane closures, you might want to take the scenic route along Cairn Highway. Here’s a little map. The green is your Alternate Route. You can click it to make it bigger.
Of course, the other big news is Tarts Are In!! For those of you from Away, that means the Montmorency (classic pie cherry) harvest has begun up here. For the next 6-8 weeks quantities of flatbed trucks loaded with lugs of cherries will be trundling along Cairn Highway headed for Great Lakes Packing. Relax. Enjoy the evidence of the rich plenty all about you. Rejoice that you are (1) on vacation in a beautiful place (2) lucky enough to live here all year round and/or (3) working overtime during the harvest. It’s all good. Here, have a piece of pie. Listen to the radio. Watch the heavy equipment.
I was going to give you a link to official MDOT information about the lane closures, but found none. I’m going to believe the Guys on the Job, and plan on my trips to Elk Rapids and Traverse City taking a bit longer for the rest of the summer. The Cowboy will keep tabs on developments.
Torch Lake Views 
Fee
July 14, 2011
Well, all the right ingredients are there – hi-vis vests, cones, muckle digger and inexplicable painted symbols on the road. As a child, I thought the guy with the Stop – Go sign had the easiest job in the world. As an adult, I reckon he’s either the low man on the totem pole, or he lost a bet on the way to work that day. Funny how age changes your perspective …
Gerry
July 14, 2011
You’re right, of course, about age changing perspective–although I still think the heavy equipment drivers have the best job.
P.j. grath
July 14, 2011
And we can trust the Cowboy implicitly, right? On anything, right? Thanks for the Cairn Highway tip, Gerry. I’d like to try that little detour sometime, anyway, even if there isn’t work underway on the main highway.
Gerry
July 14, 2011
If you take Cairn Highway you will pass two Antrim County icons: the Oasis Bar in Kewadin and the eponymous Cairn (not quite on the 45th Parallel it was intended to memorialize, but close enough for the promoters). The Cowboy has some favorite routes, too, but his feelings are wounded and he is sulking.
Carsten
July 14, 2011
Thanks for the warnings Gerry. I hate getting stuck in the traffic!
Gerry
July 14, 2011
And here I had you pegged as the laidback sort of driver who would admire the wildflowers during road construction delays. Not to mention that I assumed you’d be traveling by water.
Dawn
July 14, 2011
I’m wondering why they’re doing this road work during your high tourist season. Then I remember…the rest of the year it’s snowing. 🙂
Gerry
July 14, 2011
‘Zackly. OK, we do have a few snow-free days in September and October . . . 🙂
It’s hard to schedule this stuff without hurting a lot of people. I remember when some major work on US-31 in Williamsburg went on and on, right at the height of the summer. It was just killing one of the farm markets. The owners pondered. The customers couldn’t come to them. Fine. They’d go to the customers. They loaded up a golf cart with coolers of fresh, washed cherries and bottled water and drove up and down the shoulder selling these excellent treats to grumpy motorists. We are a resourceful and determined people.
Pat
July 15, 2011
Hmm, US-31 doesn’t run even close to Williamsburg. Did you mean to say Acme?? The only roads that run thu Williamsburg is Old M-72, New M-72 and Elk Lake Road. 🙂
Gerry
July 15, 2011
You are exactly right, Pat. The repairs were going on along US-31 in Acme, not Williamsburg, right in front of what was then Amon Orchards farm market (the place that used to hang pumpkins from the trees in October). Once I get out of Antrim County I am geographically challenged.
dmarks
July 15, 2011
It does, sort of? I’ve seen Acme businesses on US-31 have to have “Williamsburg” in their mailing address.
Gerry
July 15, 2011
Hey, d, how’ve you been keeping? I’m inclined to blame the Postal Service for my confusion too. In my tiny little Township people have mailing addresses of Central Lake, Eastport, Kewadin, Elk Rapids–and I can’t remember if the folks over on Lore Road are Ellsworth or Charlevoix for pete’s sake. I was just as confused when I lived in Detroit. Never could keep the boundaries of the Oakland County ‘burbs straight.
dmarks
July 15, 2011
Orange Barrels song;
Gerry
July 15, 2011
That’s what I should have called it! Orange Barrels on US-31. Oh well. You realize it’s going to take the rest of the afternoon to download the song over slooooooow dialup, right? But hey – as it happens, I have the rest of the afternoon free. I’m going to go read on the deck for awhile. Back later. (Dawg, it is good to hear from you.)
Scott Thomas Photography
July 15, 2011
OH, yeah, it’s been Orange Cone season around here for the last two months. Those things spring up like weeds in an open field once they feel safe to put the snow plows away for the season.
I saw a sign the other day for cherries and wondered if your crop was ready. I’ll take my pie a la mode, please.
Gerry
July 15, 2011
Yes indeed, Tarts Are In. We’ll be shakin’ around here for the next few weeks. Here’s your pie–I put Moomer’s best vanilla on top.
thedailyclick
August 3, 2011
Oh Gerry, this looks SO familiar! We vacationed in BEAUTIFUL Michigan last month and drove past those very cones! I had no idea our adventures would take us through Torchlake Township, and as soon as I saw the Township sign, I realized that YOU lived there!
Gerry
August 6, 2011
Now you tell me. At least you made the trip before the lane closures began! Glad you enjoyed Michigan even if you did miss Torch Lake.
thedailyclick
August 6, 2011
I know… for some reasonI thought you were in the U.P. and we didn’t get to see very much of it. We may have come through during the lane closures? Couldn’t tell you for sure, as there was construction in several areas along 31.
Gerry
August 6, 2011
Ah. That’s the other Torch Lake–the one in Houghton County. I’m sure you had more than your fill of orange cones all along US-31. We are resigned to our fate. Six months of snowplows, six months of orange cones. It’s OK. We go sit on the lake or the Bay and ignore the whole thing.