May 2011 Archives

It's rare to have a traffic jam before 6 a.m. in West Michigan, but it happened in Grand Rapids on eastbound I-196.

The left two lanes were blocked on the freeway at Ottawa Avenue in downtown Grand Rapids for about 45 minutes.

In the MDOT cam photo, you can see the vehicles, with people standing around.

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File this one in the Sense Of Satisfaction Department.

On FOX 17 Morning News yesterday, I mentioned that the announced schedule for the re-opening of the ramp from Fuller Avenue to eastbound I-196 said the ramp would be open again Friday night, May 27. I have eyeballed the project frequently, and I thought the ramp was nowhere near complete, most likely due to the wet weather.

This morning (May 27), I found an email issued from MDOT that said the ramp won't be open until July 29.

Oh, I'm all full of myself now.









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It didn't affect a lot of drivers. After all, it was 5 a.m.

But Thursday's commute in Grand Rapids began with a ramp closure when a truck took a slide on the ramp from westbound I-196 to southbound US-131.

In the MDOT cam shot below, you can see the truck and units from the Michigan State Police and Grand Rapids Police.







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I opened up my GasBuddy app this morning and was surprised to see some Grand Rapids gas stations are charging $4.07.

Assume the nine-tenths on any prices I quote. And I don't count the private shopping locations, such as Costco and Sam's Club.

The lowest prices were in Kentwood, with Wyoming coming in a couple of cents higher.

The highest price in Grand Rapids was $4.19.

In Kalamazoo, prices ranged from $4.08 to $4.19. Battle Creek was $4.12 to $4.16.

I used these videos on FOX 17 Morning News today.

Mechanical Bird Looks Like The Real Thing

Biking In The Rain








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