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Will bridge work derail Boyne's 09-10 ski season?

post #1 of 18
6/3/09 at 10:23am
Thread Starter 

To clarify, Boyne Mountain, (among other ski areas) is located on US 131 north of just about everywhere in Michigan, except da U P.

There is a bridge on US 131 just north of the jct where the freeway ends and turns into 2 lane traffic, which is being torn out and rebuilt just after Labor Day Weekend.  The project has a 9 month time frame which will carry through the entire ski season, eh?

See story here

Obviously, there are alternate routes, but I'm wondering how many skiers will avoid travel to places like Boyne during this construction.

 

Thoughts?  

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post #2 of 18
6/3/09 at 11:18am

What I want to know is who wants to do bridge work over the Manistee River in the dead of a Northern Michigan winter?  Can you say frostbite? 

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post #3 of 18
6/3/09 at 11:41am

This will only affect people coming from the west side of the state....  GR, K-zoo, etc...   If, at Cadillac, you take Hwy 55 east to Hwy 66 and take that north to Kalkaska, it only adds 3 miles to the route. 

 

Good summer topic, I guess....

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post #4 of 18
6/3/09 at 11:58am

Yeah, I was thinking it wouldn't affect my drive.  But ya know, I didn't make it to Boyne last season and I didn't miss it a bit.  Certainly I'll go back next season if it's to meet friends but otherwise I'll probably skip it again.  For me the value just isn't there compared to other options.  I'd rather make a shorter drive to Caberfae or continue on to Nubs.

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post #5 of 18
6/3/09 at 12:26pm

I don't see how they can get much cone in the winter either, can't do concrete, can't do asphalt, metal is contracted to the max.  But, they do need to fix bridges before this happens

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post #6 of 18
6/3/09 at 2:49pm

If I had been on that bridge on my way to Jackson Hole I would say, "Sometimes bad things happen and that's the price you pay.  If I had been on that bridge on my way to Boyne Mtn I would say, "Oh man, I really shoulda stayed home!"

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post #7 of 18
6/7/09 at 4:50pm

It won't affect any of the Metro Detroiters. They take I-75 to Gaylord and cut across on M-32 to 131.

 

Bump,

 

Believe it or not, I can make it to Boyne 15-20 minutes faster than Caberfae from Lake Orion. I made two trips to each this season and was surprised at the difference in travel time.

 

Karl

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post #8 of 18
6/7/09 at 8:13pm
Thread Starter 

 On points brought up:

UP's right, there are other good routes that can be had by certain locations, but some of us are just close enough that it will mean some serious back roads that can be marginally maintained in the winter.  No biggie, but still a consideration.

 

OrionX, I believe that you can do it quicker on the expressway, M115 can be brutal and tends to have slow traffic.

 

Construction:

The only reason I can think of that they'd want to do this in the winter is to miss the summer holiday traffic.

Occasionally they put tents over bridge work and heat the work area when they do projects like this.  Nuts! 

 

BF we have to make a trip to Boyne this coming season because Artski has offered to show us around!

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post #9 of 18
6/8/09 at 12:48pm

I remember not too long ago when 131 was 2 lane traffic from just north of GR, making it 4 lane reduced my drive time to Petoskey to about 5 hrs. I usually ski Nubs sometimes the Highlands the morning of the day I head back south and catch a couple of hrs at the Mountain on the way(nice to have the same lift ticket work at both areas). Don't know if taking I94 to I75 and North is going to be a time saver or not. Sometimes 131 can be pretty bad with Lake effect, same as 31 just south of Petoskey.

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post #10 of 18
6/8/09 at 1:40pm

Is the bridge that will be repaired north of Big Rapids?  The reason I ask is that my folks live in BR, and every summer we fly into Grand Rapids and then take 131 up to BR to visit them.

 

Is there typically snow at Caberfae during the Xmas holiday? 

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post #11 of 18
6/8/09 at 8:15pm

The Manton bridge is probably 50-60 miles north of Big Rapids. Yes, you can expect to find snow at Caberfae during the Xmas holidays. Their goal every year is to open Thanksgiving weekend.

 

Karl

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post #12 of 18
6/9/09 at 5:09am
Thread Starter 

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimski View Post

Is the bridge that will be repaired north of Big Rapids?  The reason I ask is that my folks live in BR, and every summer we fly into Grand Rapids and then take 131 up to BR to visit them.

 

Is there typically snow at Caberfae during the Xmas holiday? 


When you're up this way, let us know.  Maybe we can take a few turns together.  I'm 20 minutes from Caberfae and 40 minutes from Crystal.

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post #13 of 18
6/9/09 at 7:41am

TC -- I'll let you know; it would be fun.  I've also got a brother in Lake City and other relatives around that area.

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post #14 of 18
10/23/09 at 4:25pm
Thread Starter 
 The official bypass is waaaaay out of the way!

I know some shorter detours because its in my neck of the woods if anyone wants some help 
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post #15 of 18
10/23/09 at 4:54pm
Bahh Humbug!  Bridges falling apart all over is making skiing harder for many.  There's that bridge up in the NY VT areal that just got closed too.  Send the stimulus money to fix our ski area routes ASAP!
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post #16 of 18
12/29/09 at 2:56am
Thread Starter 
 I was at the coffee shop a few days ago and talked to a tow truck driver who knows my dad.  He said that travelers don't want to take the designated detour because it is a Loooooooong way around, so they're using their GPS's which is running them into a swamp near Buckley.

The first time he got a call, it took him a while to find the family, but now he just knows to go there.

How smart do you have to be to drive into a swamp hole because your GPS says so?
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post #17 of 18
12/29/09 at 4:34am
Hey Trek, We (me and friends) are making that run to Petoskey Jan 7. First part of Dec. Daughter and SIL made that run, took the designated detour (long) on the way up and just a tiny detour on the way home, hopefully that tiny detour wont run us into a swamp. Fri.we will be at Nubs, Sat maybe Highlands or Nubs(indecision on this), We have $9 coupons for Caberfae from Warren Miller we will use Sun. on the way to to south(home).
Edited by Steve2ski - 12/29/09 at 6:06am
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post #18 of 18
12/30/09 at 9:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by orionxprss View Post

It won't affect any of the Metro Detroiters. They take I-75 to Gaylord and cut across on M-32 to 131.

 

 


Most Detroit-area skiers take I-75 to Gaylord and cut across on M-32 to 131. 

The smart ones stay on the highway to Vanderbilt, get on Old 27 then cut across on County Road C-48.  More direct, less traffic, fewer lights, and more hiway time. 

Of course, the really smart ones will skip Boyne Mountain and continue on to the Highlands, Nubs, or Searchmont.  But that's a discussion for another day. (c:
Edited by Walt - 12/30/09 at 9:44am
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