Fix on I-196 is loud, residents say

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - It's noisy in the Belknap neighborhood, as the Fix on I-196 is right outside the window of the people who live there.

Crews began work on the bridges in the area and the Coit Avenue bridge is just down the road. The Michigan Department of Transportation also is replacing the bridges at Diamond, Eastern and Lafayette. All have been around since the 1960s and needed repair. Pedestrian walkways, landscaping and lighting will be added, with the Coit Avenue bridge a gateway into downtown.

But the residents say they're already looking forward to the project being finished, because right now, there's a lot of bone-rattling noise.

"I've actually been just been hearing a lot of the beeping noise, a lot of the hitting of the floor and my whole house has been shaking, like boom boom," Marjan Lleras said. "So, it's a little hard to sleep, but I guess they have to do it at night, so it's been a little rough, but we're trying to get through it."

MDOT officials said the bridge work is being completed mostly between midnight and 5 a.m. They're on a tight schedule to get the work done on time and maybe even ahead of schedule.

The loudest part of the bridge work is expected to be completed by the end of the week.