Two of the most treacherous roads in Traverse City sit within a one-mile stretch of each other: Fourteenth Street and Franke Road. With those corridors noticeably absent from the announced lists of city and county road projects this year, The Ticker asked local officials when repairs can be expected. The good news: Though it might not come soon enough for drivers, fixes for both roads are on the horizon.

Fourteenth Street
“One of our lowest rated asphalt conditions in the city.” That’s how City Engineer Anne Pagano describes Fourteenth Street, particularly the pockmarked main stretch between Cass and Division (pictured). Residents have described it as a “complete disaster,” a road that “desperately needs attention,” and a corridor that should be redone “completely” in comments to The Ticker. 

While street crews have been out patching potholes, more significant repairs are planned to be tackled in phases – potentially starting as soon as this year. Pagano says city staff are considering a “first phase mill and overlay” project for this summer. Such work involves milling – grinding down – some of the existing pavement and adding a new layer on top. City staff could potentially tackle the project internally using the city’s own paving machine and renting a milling machine.

Staff will give a presentation on the city’s pavement asset management plan to city commissioners on May 19, a document outlining maintenance and repair strategies for city streets. Pagano anticipates Fourteenth Street will come up at that meeting, giving staff an opportunity to discuss the corridor with commissioners and bring back repairs for approval at a future meeting. “There is more to be determined and an approval process that we need to go through with the commission before we will know for sure that it will get done this year,” she says.

If approved, the work is intended to get Fourteenth Street into good enough shape to last until 2028. That’s when the city is slated to receive $1.138 million in funding for Fourteenth Street from the region’s newly formed Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). Following the 2020 U.S. Census, the Traverse City area reached the population threshold required to become an MPO – a status that means access to more federal dollars for road projects, and the ability for local governments and agencies to come together on one board to make regional transportation decisions. That board is charged with creating a transportation improvement program, or a three-year plan outlining projects that will receive funding. There’s enough funding right now for approximately one major project each year, plus support for BATA services – with Cherry Bend Road (Breithaupt to M-22) tentatively on the list for 2026, Cass Road (Hartman to Airport) for 2027, and Fourteenth Street (Division to the railroad crossing) for 2028.

Work on Fourteenth Street in 2028 would be a more “robust” mill and overlay project, says Pagano. MPO Program Manager Barry Hicks says that the MPO funding represents “a big cost savings for the city,” as it’s not always easy for municipalities to cobble together over $1 million of their own funding for one street. The 2028 work would serve as a bridge to the long-term goal for Fourteenth Street: a complete reconstruction of the corridor, estimated at over $10 million. That would likely be at least five years – or possibly longer – after the mill and overlay project, Pagano says.

A full reconstruction will require the city to line up grants and other funding sources, gather public input on reconstruction design, and plan for underground utility work. Pagano says there’s a six-inch water main under Fourteenth Street that will eventually need to be upsized and replaced for the full corridor length. Other projects – like the potential realignment of Pine Street and the extension of a non-motorized trail from the Boardman Lake Loop Trail to The Village at Grand Traverse Commons – could also be part of that project.

As occurred when West Front Street and Eighth Street were revamped, reconstructing Fourteenth Street could help bring new activity to the corridor. The city’s recently updated master plan calls for establishing a development zone along Fourteenth Street to allow for more “vibrant development and redevelopment opportunities.” City Planning Director Shawn Winter says the long lead time heading into a full reconstruct gives the city the opportunity to “work on those land use regulations now,” setting up the potential for a convergence of road work and new zoning and/or economic opportunities on Fourteenth in the future.

Franke Road
While Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) must navigate some challenges on Fourteenth Street – given the location of its Thirlby Field and Glenn Loomis facilities – neighborhood side streets help offset that corridor’s difficulty. Not so with Franke Road, where vehicles have “no choice” but to use the road to access the TCAPS Montessori school, says Superintendent Dr. John VanWagoner. “It’s in rough shape,” he says, adding he frequently hears complaints from parents and the community at large.

Grand Traverse County Road Commission (GTCRC) Manager Dan Watkins is aware of those concerns. One challenge Franke Road has had up until now is its designation as a local road, which limits the amount of funding GTCRC can commit to construction work without a township match. However, officials are working to reclassify Franke as a major collector road, which will give GTCRC more flexibility in the amount of funding it can receive and apply to repairs.

“Right now, we’re planning on replacing Franke Road in 2026,” Watkins says. “It’ll be either a crush-and-shape or mill-and-fill, but either way you’re going to have new pavement.” The full scope of repairs will be determined by how much funding GTCRC can secure and the board’s budget planning process for 2026, Watkins says.

TCAPS is also working to secure Safe Routes to School funding to install a crosswalk with flashing lights between the Montessori school and Meijer – an upgrade that will improve safety for both Montessori and TC West Middle School students, VanWagoner says. Since part of the crossing would be on the Meijer side – non-TCAPS property – TCAPS can’t spend bond dollars on it, he adds. With an estimate of over $100,000 to install the pad, crosswalk, and flashing lights, “we’re hopeful to get a grant to do that,” VanWagoner says. He’d like to see the crosswalk installed before 2026, but says if both projects need to happen concurrently, the district will work with that. Repairing Franke Road is something that is “needed now,” VanWagoner says. “Definitely if it does take (until 2026), it will be a welcome change when it’s done.”