Road closures to shift at State and Ellsworth roundabout construction site

Road closures are about to change at the intersection of State Street and Ellsworth Road in Pittsfield Township where a roundabout has been under construction since early June.

For the past two months, Ellsworth Road has been completely closed to all traffic on the western part of the intersection at State.

Beginning Thursday, Ellsworth Road west of State Street will open to traffic and Ellsworth Road east of State will close.

A detour route will be posted along Research Park Drive.

The closure of Ellsworth Road east of State Street is expected to last until mid-September.

Both directions of traffic on State Street will be maintained throughout this change in closures, though they will be continued to be reduced from two lanes to one lane in each direction.

The $2.4 million project coordinated by the Washtenaw County Road Commission is entering its third phase.

Construction of the roundabout was initiated by Pittsfield Township in anticipation of increased traffic that would come to the area with the June 2012 opening of the Costco store at 771 Airport Blvd.

The Road Commission is advising drivers to avoid the area if possible, as delays are likely. Businesses near the intersection are still open throughout the project.

The roundabout is slated for completion at the end of September.

Two federal grants are funding the majority of construction. Costco is contributing half a million dollars to the project, and the city of Ann Arbor and the Road Commission will cover the remainder of the project.

Pittsfield Township and the city of Ann Arbor are splitting a $42,000 portion of the project that involves concrete stamping work on a part of the roundabout to make it more visually appealing.

View State and Ellsworth roundabout construction, phase 3 in a larger map

Amy Biolchini covers Washtenaw County, health and environmental issues for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.