South Airport Road Monitoring Continues, Hartman Lights Planned

South Airport Road remains closed as officials continue to evaluate the structure's safety, the Grand Traverse County Road Commission announced Sunday. GTCRC also said that temporary traffic lights are expected to be installed "soon" on both ends of Hartman Road to help with detour traffic resulting from part of Beitner Road being down. 

GTCRC thanked residents for their patience "while we continue performing the tests required to reopen" South Airport Road safely. "Our crews are working to remove large logs and debris that have flowed downstream into the culverts," GTCRC posted. "Their work continues alongside the collection of data by engineers to determine if the road has shifted or sunk as the water recedes. These steps are critical to ensure the road is safe to reopen to drivers."

Current monitoring indicates the Boardman River is expected to return to normal levels by Tuesday. On Monday, bridge inspectors from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will meet with GTCRC staff on site to examine the closed section of South Airport Road near Logan's Landing. "As we collect the final data points, clear the culverts of debris, and if MDOT has positive findings from their inspection, we are hopeful that South Airport Road can be reopened soon after," GTCRC posted.

With Cass Road seeing significant traffic congestion due to both South Airport and Beitner being down, temporary traffic lights will "soon be installed" at Cass/Hartman and US-31/Hartman, according to GTCRC. While an exact installation date was not provided, work is "expected to begin as quickly as possible," the road commission said. "In the meantime, please continue to follow the official detour that returns you to South Airport Road where you can safely make a left turn onto US-31. These routes have been carefully planned with safety as the top priority."