Ludington/state continue to study 3 lane Ludington Avenue.

Ludington Avenue looking east from William Street.

Ludington/state continue to study 3 lane Ludington Avenue.

#LudingtonNews.

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief.

LUDINGTON — The Michigan Department of Transportation recently studied traffic on Ludington Avenue between Jackson road and Robert Street, which consists of US 10 from the city limits (Jackson Road) to James Street, then M-116 from James Street west. The study was conducted by MDOT to determine if re-striping the avenue from four/five lanes to three lanes is a viable option, as MDOT prepares to resurface the road from Jackson Road to Rowe Street in the spring of 2018.

The City of Ludington sent out an update today on the study. MDOT placed hose counters on Ludington Avenue to record the number of vehicles driving on it on a typical day. In addition, traffic counts were conducted at the intersections of Jackson Road, Staffon Street, Madison Avenue, Washington Avenue, Harrison Street, James Street, Rath Avenue, and Robert Street, to determine the amount of current traffic at those intersections and the turning movements of the vehicles. Five local volunteers conducted the traffic counts over a 16-hour period on August 9 and 10.

MDOT also provided the city with a list of 403 crashes that occurred on Ludington Avenue between Jackson Road and William Street from 2007 to 2017. Many of the crashes involved rear-end collisions and sideswipes.

According to the information from the city, MDOT is now in the process of analyzing the operation of the roadway with the lane reduction and reviewing the crash history to evaluate how converting that portion of the avenue to three wider lanes would impact the traffic flow and safety. The process is expected to take six to eight weeks.

Once the analysis is complete, the city council will discuss the viability of the revised lane configuration. If both parties agree to proceed, a public meeting will be scheduled, possibly in October or November. Following the meeting, the city and MDOT will determine whether to proceed with restriping the avenue to three wider lanes on a trial basis. The Federal Highway Administration requires the trial period last for a minimum of 12 months. The conversion would take place in early spring 2018, if that route is decided.

Restriping will not affect the existing parking on Ludington Avenue. The revised lane configuration will provide additional widths for parking.