Franke Road will close starting at 7am Tuesday for approximately two months as crews begin a long-awaited overhaul of the corridor. 

The Grand Traverse County Road Commission announced road work will begin Tuesday, with Franke expected to reopen "prior to the start of the school year on or about September 3." Franke Road extends from Silver Lake Road to US-31 behind the Traverse City Meijer store, with the TCAPS Montessori School also located along the corridor.

Road commissioners recently approved a contract for $977,277 with J&N Construction for the full crush-and-shape reconstruction project. Road Commission Manager Dan Watkins previously noted the road had been “quite complicated” to design to balance traffic-calming measures like islands with lane configurations that accommodate everything from Montessori school traffic to Meijer semi-trucks to residential access. Garfield Township is partnering with the Road Commission to install new sidewalks on Franke as part of the project.