The gateway to Leelanau County will get a massive facelift this year as road crews continue to work west along Grandview Parkway and up into Elmwood Township, and the first stages of this project are right around the corner.

And while much discussion has centered on an M-22/M-72 roundabout that’s expected to relieve backups that stretch for thousands of feet in the summer months, Elmwood Township Supervisor Jeff Shaw is most excited (by far) about the substantial upgrades planned for those traveling by foot or bike along the township’s main drag.  

“We’re going to have much, much safer non-motorized transportation and much better and safer connectivity, and that’s huge,” Shaw tells The Ticker. “If you drive through that corridor now, you see people trying to get around and get across, and it’s like they’re playing Frogger in the summer. It’s scary. You don’t have to watch for long to see people almost get hit.”

Crews are expected to work from spring through fall on a complete rebuild of Grandview Parkway (M-72) west of Division Street in Traverse City up into M-22 in Elmwood Township. The rebuild will involve installing the roundabout at M-22/M-72 as well as rebuilding M-22 up to Cherry Bend Road. It’s the second major phase in a project that began last year with the rebuild of the Parkway from Garfield west to Division.

Work will include the installation of four new pedestrian crossings (some of which will include “refuge islands") enhancements of existing crossings and groundwork for yet more crossings. What’s more, a 10-foot-wide multi-use trail will pick up where it leaves off now right before the M-22/M-72 intersection and continue all the way to Cherry Bend Road.

“You’ll be able to leave the old Holiday Inn and come all the way to our marina without ever crossing a road,” Shaw says. “It’s just incredible.”

This trail will run along the bay before crossing at the marina and continuing to Cherry Bend (a narrow right-of-way at the marina forces this) and a sidewalk will be installed on the other side of the road. What this means is a corridor that is now almost entirely devoid of any way for pedestrians to move around will now have options on both sides of the highway.

“Before I became supervisor, we had a group that walked that corridor trying to figure out what we could do to improve things, and I was quoted in the paper saying you really feel like you’re going to die. I mean, you’re a foot from trucks going 50 miles an hour,” Shaw says. “This is going to be a huge, huge improvement.”

The township in 2026 plans to reconstruct Cherry Bend Road and continue the 10-foot pathway all the way to the township park. This will be especially beneficial to township residents, Shaw says, who will then have a direct, non-motorized link to the waterfront trail and points beyond.

“We have 350 homes in these subdivisions right here, and that trail will collect and connect all of these people, who will be able to get directly onto the trail,” Shaw says.

As for the roundabout, Shaw expects it will help with considerable seasonal congestion at the intersection. It will be the latest of at least a half dozen that have been installed in the area over the last decade. MDOT Traverse City Transportation Service Center Manager Dan Wagner says they’ve gone over well, leading to a (relatively) warm reception for the latest installation.

“Roundabout used to be a dirty word, but folks are getting more accustomed to them in our immediate area,” he tells The Ticker. “I probably hear from somebody in the community once a month or so saying ‘When are you going to build a roundabout (at a given location)?’ People are really starting to understand the safety and operational benefits.”

That said, Wagner said the MDOT team is bracing for “unintended consequences” that might have to be addressed after installation, as is common with major overhauls.

“I’m sure there’ll be some follow-up projects or tweaks here and there,” he says.

Wagner expects work completed in 2025 will match the good vibes tied to the first phase of the project, which revamped the Parkway through Traverse City. 

“I’m 57 years old and have worked most of my career in the Traverse City market, and this is sort of a hood ornament project for me – it went great, and I feel good about (being involved),” he says. “I think everybody who had a hand in it is taking great pride in being associated with the project, and I think this is just going to be more of the same.”

It’s not all smiles, of course. Shaw says business owners have significant concerns about the impacts of impending construction on their bottom line. But there's "never going to be a good time" to complete such a project from a businesses impact standpoint, he says, and both he and Wagner hope businsses are able to embrace the concept of “short-term losses, long-term gains.”

“I’m hoping that they can plan for it and understand that the end result is going to bring them so much more opportunity in terms of access (and exposure),” Shaw says. “Everybody needs to understand it's going to be a challenge in 2025. It's going to affect businesses, it's going to affect all of us traveling through. But the end result is going to be spectacular.”

Two way traffic will be maintained through the corridor as contruction continues throughout the year.

More information about the project can be found at the City of Traverse City's website and an MDOT project page.