Truck warning system being built in Mackinac County, Mich.

Michigan will be installing truck warning systems on U.S. Highway 2, causing some daytime closures on the highway.

According to the Michigan Department of Transportation, the state will be building right turn lanes and a truck warning system on U.S. 2 at Borgstrom Road and Sandy Products Drive in Mackinac County. Signs stating “Trucks Entering Highway” will be installed at both locations. Sensors will activate lights on the signs only when trucks are at the intersections.

In addition to the truck warning systems, MDOT will also do curb, gutter and pavement marking work.

According to MDOT, Graymont Mines will be using the highway and Borgstrom Road to haul raw material to a dock along U.S. 2. The department expects about 200 truck trips per day in the area, forcing the need for the truck warning system. MDOT teamed up with Graymont for a Transportation Economic Development Fund grant. That grant will fund most of the nearly $750,000 project. Graymont and MDOT will pick up the rest of the tab.

The truck warning system project begins on Oct. 12 and will be complete on Dec. 11.

MDOT expects intermittent daytime closures of U.S. 2 at the two locations. One lane of alternating traffic will be maintained. Work will require an 11-foot width restriction on US 2 at these two locations.

The new turn lanes will allow trucks to make safer turns. The truck warning system signs will alert motorists to truck traffic and increase safety.

The grant funding the project was awarded back in 2018. Worth more than $450,000, projects from the grant will support 45 new jobs in the county and pull in about $15 million in private investment, a private/public ratio of about 33:1.

According to a news release, Graymont is a supplier of lime and limestone. The company will redevelop a limestone quarry on Borgstrom Road north of Hudson Township for mining and crushing operations. Trucks will transport crushed limestone from the quarry to a site adjacent to the existing Sand Products facility in Moran Township. The limestone will be stockpiled and transported to an existing dock for loading onto ships and transport across Lake Michigan.  LL