MDOT open house Sept. 23 for future M-139, Main Street improvements near Benton Harbor

COLOMA, Mich. - The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) invites the public to attend an open house to hear details of a planned 2026-2027 project to repave and rebuild M-139 from near the St. Joseph River to I-94 Business Loop (BL) (Main Street) in Benton Charter and Sodus townships and the city of Benton Harbor, as well as I-94 BL (Main Street) from Fair Avenue to Butternut Street in Benton Charter Township. Proposed work includes improvements to pavement condition, safety, drainage and public utilities on a total of 4.4 miles of state highway.

Who:
Community members
Local businesses
Interested residents
MDOT staff and contractors

When:
Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025
4 - 6 p.m.

Where:
Benton Charter Township Hall
1725 Territorial Road
Benton Harbor, MI 49022

Accessibility: Attendees who require mobility, visual, hearing, written, or other assistance for effective participation should contact Orlando Curry at 517-241-7462 or [email protected], preferably at least five business days prior to the scheduled meeting. Forms are located on the Title VI webpage. Requests made after this timeframe will be evaluated and honored to the extent possible.

Project information:
MDOT plans to improve M-139 from 2,300 feet south of I-94 to I-94 BL (Main Street), and I-94 BL (Main Street) from Fair Avenue to Butternut Street. The section of M-139 from south of I-94 to Fairplain Drive will consist of drainage and driveway work. Fairplain Drive to the split north of Empire Avenue will be repaved and retain its existing primarily five-lane configuration. North of Empire Avenue, the existing divided one-way roadways of Fair Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive will be converted to two-way traffic with Fair Avenue being disconnected from M-139 and becoming a Benton Harbor city street, and Martin Luther King Drive remaining as M-139.

Martin Luther King Drive will be repaved and Fair Avenue will be rebuilt. A roundabout will be installed at Empire Avenue to replace that existing traffic signal. These changes are a result of early design coordination held with local stakeholders, including the City of Benton Harbor, Benton Township and the public in spring 2023.