Biddle Avenue Construction Begins Next Week

A road construction project has some Wyandotte business owners fuming.

Biddle Avenue between Eureka and Ford will be reconstructed beginning April 25.  The project is slated to be finished in early July, barring any unforeseen delays or inclement weather.

The majority of Biddle will be closed during the work, however, one lane of traffic will remain open at all times in either direction.

The Wayne County Department of Public Services, which is overseeing the project as Biddle is a county road, sent out a letter dated April 6 to residents and property owners.

“Intermittent stoppages in traffic may be encountered, along with increased traffic congestion,” says the letter signed by project engineer Jesus Plasencia.  “I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”

As of this weekend, however, some business owners said they never received the letter and only found out about the pending work from speaking with nearby business owners.

Jim Marangos of said the timing of the project is horrible as local businesses struggle during the winter and are just now starting to pick up.

“Just when things are improving, they shut down the street,” he said. “I think it’s very careless planning.” 

Marangos said he agrees that the work needs to be done but said it should begin in September or October, not smack in the middle of the busy season.

“It’s actually quite a bit upsetting,” he said.

Jeff Olstein of also isn’t happy with the timing, but said it’s a “necessary evil.”

A public parking lot is directly behind his store, but he said he worries that the lot will fill up quickly every day due to others using it because of the construction.

“People like convenience, that’s the tough part,” he said. “It’s a difficult situation.” 

Other business owners said they don’t believe the work will impact them as much since they have both front and back access to their stores.

“If the road needs to be taken care of, then take care of it,” said Annette Crossman of .

Mark Belicoso of said he’s confident his clientele won’t slip during the construction.

“I don’t think it will disrupt my business,” he said.

In addition to the business owners, city officials also are trying to come up with a game plan because of the work.

The city’s fireworks along the Detroit River are set for June 24 and the Wyandotte Street Art Fair, which stretches four blocks along the section of Biddle that will be partially closed, is July 13-16.

Heather Thiede, the city’s special event coordinator, said the county has not promised that the work will be done before either of those events.

With the way the project is supposed to be completed–with one side of Biddle resurfaced and then the other–the hope is that if the project is not entirely finished by the art fair, at least one side of Biddle will be open, Thiede said.

“We’ll just try and work it out the best we can,” she said. “It could be really problematic with the booth spaces in the middle of Biddle.”

Natalie Rankine, director of the city’s Downtown Development Authority, said she’s hopeful the entire project will be completed by the art fair, or in the very least, the four blocks that encompass the fair.

“It’s a bit of a concern, but we’re hoping Eureka to Oak is done and then we can deal with the other areas,” she said.

County officials did not return a phone call seeking comment by the time this story was posted.