How long have you turned left off Broadmoor the same way? You pull into the center turn lane, wait for a gap in oncoming traffic and go. The $50 million rebuild of M-37 ends that habit. Once the work is finished, left turns between 76th and 92nd streets will run through indirect left turns, better known in Michigan as Michigan lefts.
MDOT expects that change around next September. What arrives in mid-November is the end of one construction stage.
What Ends in Mid-November
Since early June, M-37 has run one lane in each direction between 92nd and 76th streets. Southbound lane closures run from Kraft Avenue to 76th Street, and northbound closures run from near Main Street to 92nd Street. The Village of Caledonia's notice said the stage would last "through mid-November" and that "the work is weather dependent."
MDOT's Mi Drive construction list puts a date on it:
| Mi Drive listing | Restriction | Listed start | Listed end |
|---|---|---|---|
| M-37, 92nd St to 76th St | Lane closure on northbound and southbound M-37 with a traffic shift | June 1, 2026 | Nov. 14, 2026 |
| M-37, East Main St to 92nd St | Center turn lane closed from Main St to 92nd St | June 1, 2026 | Nov. 14, 2026 |
From the last days of October, that leaves a little over two weeks. Nov. 14 ends this stage, not the project. MDOT's February announcement called this "a two-year rebuilding project" and estimated the end date as mid-September 2027. MDOT's project page describes the schedule as Spring 2026 to Fall 2027. MDOT's project materials don't say how traffic will be set up over the winter. The Mi Drive map is the place to check before your morning drive once the listed end date passes. A Caledonia Township calendar notice also warns of "construction impacts/delays surrounding 8196 Broadmoor Avenue SE," the address of Township Hall.
The Road Everyone Called Death Valley
To see why the turn lane matters, look at the road being replaced. In March, WOOD TV8 reported that almost 20,000 cars use this stretch of M-37 on an average day, plus hundreds of commercial vehicles, on a road with one travel lane each way and a single center turn lane.
Two business owners on the corridor described it to WOOD in plain terms. "At 4 or 5 o' clock you can see cars all lined up from 76th Street," said Travis Wisner-Todd, owner of Paradise Pizza. Jordan Baker, owner of Comodo Motors, gave the stretch its local nickname: "Anybody driving this, you know what they call it? Death Valley. From 84th to 76th all the trees overhanging, the tightness of the lanes, especially during snowy times."
That road leaned hard on its center lane. Every left into a driveway, a side street or a parking lot happened there, across oncoming traffic, in the same lanes trucks were using. So this summer's lane shift took more away than it seemed to. Drivers still had one lane each way, roughly what they had before, but from Main Street to 92nd Street the center turn lane was closed.
How Turning Works When the Boulevard Arrives
The finished road takes the lane setup Caledonia drivers already know from north of 76th Street and carries it south. MDOT is widening roughly three miles of M-37 into a four-lane boulevard and extending the median, which now ends north of 76th Street, all the way to 92nd Street. MDOT's project page puts the rebuild at 2.7 miles. According to WOOD TV8, "each major intersection will be rebuilt to accommodate Michigan left turns."
With a median in the middle, there's no center lane left to turn from. A Michigan left handles the turn in steps. You go straight through or turn right first, then make the U-turn at a crossover in the median. For a regular trip, that means you'll plan around where the crossovers and signals are instead of whichever gap opens up in front of you.
MDOT's plan puts new or rebuilt signals at four spots:
- 76th Street, a new traffic signal with intersection improvements, where today's boulevard ends.
- 84th Street, a new signal with intersection improvements.
- 84th Street and Cherry Valley Avenue, a new signal and improvements at the intersection just off M-37.
- 92nd Street, a new signal with intersection improvements, at the village end of the project.
The 84th and Cherry Valley corner has already been part of the disruption. MDOT's release planned to close 84th Street on the east side of M-37 together with a total closure of Cherry Valley Avenue from M-37 to just north of 84th. In June, the Caledonia Township manager's report listed 84th Street from Cherry Valley to M-37 as closed starting June 6 through August.
The Part of the Project Built for Walking
The road is getting a walking and biking route too, mostly around 84th Street, the same intersection where the driving changes pile up. In the project announcement, MDOT says it will "improve nonmotorized trails and connectivity, including a new multiuse path along the west side of M-37 at 84th Street."
The project FAQ gives more detail. Workers will grade the roadside along the north side of 84th Street from Cherry Valley Avenue to M-37 and build "an enhanced M-37 crossing." A new multi-use path is planned along the west side of M-37 from 84th Street north approximately 2,600 feet, to a future residential development and local trail connection, with culvert work at the Emmons Lake Outlet to fit the path network. The existing trail next to M-37 also gets rebuilt where it runs alongside the widened road. MDOT's environmental review lists that trail as a park resource, calling it the nonmotorized path from the Paul Henry Thornapple Trail connector in Lakeside Park to 84th Street.
Taken together, those pieces suggest that the crossing at 84th will matter about as much to people on foot or bikes as the new signal does to drivers. Cutting across M-37 there on foot has meant crossing a busy road with no median. The plan swaps that for a dedicated crossing tied to a path network.
Trail users north of the village have a separate change to watch. Kent County announced that a portion of the Paul Henry Thornapple Trail between 76th Street SE and Patterson Avenue would close starting Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. The county's alert gives no reason and no reopening date, so it's the page to check before you head out. Nearby, the township is planning its own 76th Street Patterson Trail. In June, the manager's report said VK Civil was working on the design and easements and that construction should come in late 2026 or spring 2027.
The Dates Between Now and Next September
The M-37 work doesn't stand alone. Several other dates on the village's calendar fall inside its timeline:
- Nov. 14, 2026: Listed end of the current one-lane stage and the center turn lane closure from Main Street to 92nd Street, weather permitting.
- Dec. 5, 2026, 4 p.m.: Christmas in Caledonia, according to the Village's event listing.
- Spring 2027: Expected start of the Kinsey Street project from Maple Street to 100th Street, which covers resurfacing, storm drainage work and sanitary sewer extensions.
- Late 2026 to spring 2027: Expected construction window for the township's 76th Street Patterson Trail.
- Mid-September 2027: MDOT's estimated end date for the M-37 rebuild.
After this summer, Kinsey Street matters most for daily driving. It's a downtown street, and its work is expected to start in the spring, during the final construction season on Broadmoor.
When MDOT announced the project, it estimated the $50 million investment would directly and indirectly support 423 jobs. FOX 17 reported that it's a joint effort of Caledonia Township, the Kent County Road Commission and MDOT. For anyone who drives Broadmoor every day, though, the clearest marker of the finished project will be pulling up to 84th Street and turning left at a crossover instead of waiting in the center lane.
If you live near the Broadmoor corridor and want to know how a rebuilt M-37 fits into your home's story when you decide to sell, Cheryl Grant Real Estate Team follows Caledonia's projects closely and can walk you through it. Request a Free Home Valuation, and we'll start with your street.
