Downtown Grand Rapids’ Busiest Street Is Closing (Again)

Last summer, the Fulton/Divison intersection was shut down from July to November, disrupting traffic and access to the area's businesses. As someone who frequents the vintage & upscale thrifting shops along South Division, seeing that intersection completely torn up for months finally repaved was a breath of fresh air.

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Well, buckle back in because the City of Grand Rapids has announced that the same area will once again be undergoing a multi-month construction project.

Division Construction Pt 2

When construction was taking place in 2024, the intersection was completely ripped up to improve "various utilities" like updating traffic lights. It was delayed after crews found "old areaway walls" that needed to be removed.

READ MORE: Michigan Approves The 'Rapids' Returning To Grand Rapids |

It seems like this will be part two of the construction, however, starting March 3rd, Division Ave. is getting completely reconstructed from Fulton to Michigan and will be closed down from November. The street reconstruction is pretty extensive as outlined in this diagram.

What's Changing?

In Downtown Grand Rapids Inc.'s announcement post on Facebook, they announced:

• New water main & upgraded utilities
• Separated storm & sanitary sewers
• Narrower roadways & wider sidewalks
• Raised bike lanes & new street trees
• Enhanced street lighting & a raised median

There will be a virtual informational meeting on Wednesday, February 26th. Community members can sign up here to join.

Initial Reactions

Raised bike lanes and larger sidewalks make sense considering the increased use of electric scooters around the city. Grand Rapids is known for being a walkable city.

Can’t wait for the improved bike lanes!

Bike lanes

However, many people in the comments are not happy that the roads will be reduced in size.

Stop making the roads smaller this is getting ridiculous

Making the busiest street in GR narrower? This why traffic is so bad downtown. More people in the city and making the streets smaller. It doesn’t make people take more public transportation it just clogs cars and makes people avoid downtown and the businesses all together.