Bohemian Road Beach to be closed for seven weeks this summer
Pictured: Margo Burian’s painting of Bohemian Road Beach.
From staff reports
Bohemian Road Beach, a popular summer destination within the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore between Glen Arbor and Leland, will be all but inaccessible for 7 weeks this summer due to road work on part of County Road 669 (Bohemian Road) which runs between M-22 and Lake Michigan.
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) awarded a contract late last week to replace culverts under Shalda Creek and to repave 500 feet of roadway on pothole-laden Bohemian Road. Shalda Creek, which runs from Little Traverse Lake to Lake Michigan, has been impacted by record-high water levels. New, three-sided concrete culverts will help alleviate the high-water buildup. The Leelanau County Road Commission hired Gosling Czubak Engineering Services at a June 2 meeting to provide construction engineering support.
Bohemian Road will be closed from approximately June 21, or shortly thereafter, until August 16. For 7 weeks at the height of summer, beach goers will have to avoid the beach and look elsewhere.
The project is under the jurisdiction of MDOT, because the culvert replacement will be funded by a federal grant. Because of the federal grant guidelines, MDOT is charged with administering the project, including approval of the design plans, advertising and awarding bids, and hiring the contractor to perform the work, according to Road Commission finance manager Joe Nedow.
“Our role in all this is rather limited in paying for any cost over-runs and in providing engineering support,” said Nedow, who added that the Road Commission has no input as to the construction schedule.
The Glen Arbor Sun’s initial story erroneously indicated that the Road Commission chose the project dates. We regret the error.
“Like many, we had originally planned for this work to be done last fall, but learned that this would not be possible because this area is a sensitive fish hatchery,” said Nedow. “We had hoped MDOT would have awarded the contract this spring which would have minimized the impact on our short tourist season, but the COVID shutdown and restrictions imposed by the Governor delayed the project.”
Nedow said the Road Commission will know more about the exact time of the closure on Wednesday once a pre-construction meeting is held with MDOT and the contractors.
