North Eaton, north of Austin and headed toward Family Fare, is nearly finished, with pavement markings and some permanent signs remaining. South of Austin, toward downtown and down the hill, another layer of asphalt and finishing work are still needed.
Work continues along Austin Avenue. The new water main is in place from Arthur Street, just behind Michigan’s Family Chiropractic and about a block west of the traffic light at North Eaton, east to the flashing light at North Superior Street. Crews have finished replacing water services on the north side of Austin and are working on the south side.

That corner is also home to two businesses that have dealt with the effects of construction. The owner of Albion 1 Stop at 217 Austin Ave. told The Recorder in August that some of his regular customers were no longer coming in during construction.
Across Austin Avenue, Mark Clawson, owner of I’M TIRED at 220 Austin Ave., addressed City Council Sept. 8 about the impact on his business. Later in the meeting, Councilmember Donivan Williams described the situation: “There is no worse perfect storm for a business owner than to literally shut down both streets in front of his business.”

Both businesses remain open.

Before Austin can be paved, crews still have water-main connections to make at Arthur, Clinton and Superior streets. The roadway then has to be prepared and a concrete base installed. The concrete must cure for seven days before asphalt can go on top, Holleman said.

The construction can also leave a street looking half new and half old. Engineers explained at a city Town Hall that water-project funding pays to restore pavement disturbed to reach the water main, generally beneath one side of the street. Repaving the rest requires separate road funding.

Elsewhere, the Bemer, Magnotta and Dean project is substantially complete and open to traffic, with permanent signs remaining. On Dean and Hoaglin drives, much of the underground utility work is complete, although storm-sewer and sanitary-lateral work continues.

A weekend drive found Dean near Cooper Court still a rough construction surface — a reminder that finished work underground does not necessarily mean a finished road above it.
Getting around Albion during construction has meant learning new ways to reach familiar places.

Some drivers headed toward Family Fare have continued on North Superior rather than turning onto Austin and traveling through the construction at North Eaton. At other closures, drivers can sometimes be seen waiting to see whether another car gets through before following.
As September ends, some alternate routes have become familiar just as some of the original routes are beginning to open again.