The orange barrels near The Lakes Mall come from several separate projects. A ground-up rebuild of the Harvey Street and Sternberg Road intersection, an MDOT bridge project at the US-31 and I-96 interchange, a repaving job on East Mount Garfield Road and a new traffic signal at Airport Road and Airline Highway all overlap right now. Each has its own contractor, funding and schedule.
Almost all of them are scheduled to end within a few weeks of each other in November. The intersection itself is the last one on the list. The funding paying for it is the main reason it is happening in fall at all.
An Intersection Built Around the Mall
The Harvey and Sternberg intersection took its current shape in the mid-1990s, built ahead of the Lakes Mall's construction, according to MLive's January 2026 report on the project. The roads themselves go back to the 1920s, Public Works Director Jim Murphy told the paper.
The district has filled in heavily since then. The Lakes Mall at 5600 Harvey Street lists 39 retailers and dining options. Its directory includes Dick's Sporting Goods, Family Farm & Home, JCPenney, Auntie Anne's Pretzels and Little Easy Cajun. Target sits at 5057 Harvey Street and Meijer at 5300 S. Harvey Street.
About 38,000 vehicles go through Harvey and Sternberg every day. The Sternberg and Grand Haven Road intersection to the west sees about 18,000. Murphy described Harvey and Sternberg this way:
"One of the busiest in the county, if not the busiest."
All those cars wear out the pavement. "Because everyone stops and starts at the intersections, it gets more wear and tear," City Administrator Anthony Chandler told MLive. The fix is a full tear-out. New pavement runs 60 to 70 feet out from the center of the intersection in every direction. The lanes, crosswalks and light fixtures will stay the same when it reopens. ADA curb ramps are being added at crosswalks where needed. Once the crews leave, drivers should find the familiar layout on a new surface.
Why the Work Moved From Spring to Fall
In January, the plan was different. MLive reported that both Sternberg intersections, at Harvey and at Grand Haven Road, would be rebuilt between March and the end of June 2026. The cost estimates were $689,000 for Harvey and $397,000 for Grand Haven. The bid posting went up January 13, closed February 5, and said the intersection work had to be coordinated with a separate sewer-lining project on Grand Haven Road. The city's records list that sewer job, from Mount Garfield to Ellis, as running from January to July 2026.
The contract was awarded on July 7, at a City Council meeting held at the Norton Shores Branch Library on Seminole Road. The resolution notes that bids came in for both intersections. It awards only Harvey and Sternberg, to Wadel Stabilization of Hart, for $1,075,000 including a 5% contingency, paid from the city's TIFA fund. The vote was unanimous. The resolution doesn't say why Grand Haven and Sternberg was left out. The city's October project list doesn't include that intersection at all, so its timing is still an open question.
The award left a fixed deadline. "The funding source that we're using expires on Dec. 31 of this year, so there is a time element for getting the work completed yet this year," Murphy told WZZM. Pushing the work to spring 2027 would have meant losing the money, so this fall became the window.
How the Rebuild Runs, and What This Week Adds
Spicer Group, the engineer working with the city, laid out two phases. In Phase 1, starting shortly after Labor Day, Harvey was closed north of the intersection and Sternberg traffic was shifted onto the westbound lanes. Phase 2 started Friday, October 2, after a weather delay. Harvey was closed on both sides of the intersection for the switchover day. Now the south side stays closed, Sternberg traffic runs on shifted lanes, and a posted detour handles Harvey traffic.
The city's Phase 2 detour map uses Sternberg Road, Grand Haven Road and East Mount Garfield Road to get back to Harvey. Part of that detour is getting its own work this week. East Mount Garfield, from Grand Haven Road to US-31, is on the city's 2026 repaving list. The schedule for the next week:
- Through Friday, October 9: Traffic signal work at Airport Road and Airline Highway, which started October 2.
- Wednesday, October 7: Pavement milling on East Mount Garfield Road.
- Thursday, October 8: Crews raise structures on East Mount Garfield.
- Saturday, October 10: New asphalt overlay on East Mount Garfield.
The city says signs and flaggers will keep traffic moving during both jobs, with delays likely. Like every date here, these can change with the weather. After Saturday's overlay, the Harvey detour runs on fresh pavement for the rest of Phase 2.
Why Sternberg Has More Traffic Than Usual
The intersection work isn't the only thing putting cars on Sternberg. MDOT's $7 million bridge and ramp project at the US-31 and I-96 interchange began April 6 and is expected to wrap up in mid-November. Several of its detours send drivers to the Sternberg exit. Here is what the state's Mi Drive system showed as of early October:
- Northbound US-31 to westbound I-96: Ramp closed through November 11. The detour exits at Sternberg and heads west to northbound Grand Haven Road.
- Eastbound I-96 to northbound US-31: Ramp closed through November 13, with the detour using southbound US-31 and the Sternberg exit.
- Northbound US-31: Left lane closed from Sternberg to Airline through November 13.
- Airline Road entrance ramp to southbound US-31: Closed through November 13.
Put together, Sternberg is carrying its usual 38,000-a-day load at Harvey, highway detour traffic coming off US-31, and Harvey traffic rerouted around the closed south leg, all through an intersection running on shifted lanes. Murphy suggested in January that drivers expect short delays and "seek alternative routes to avoid congestion."
The November End Dates
This is how the projects line up based on the latest published dates as of October 4:
| Project | Latest published end date |
|---|---|
| Airport Road and Airline Highway signal | Friday, October 9 |
| East Mount Garfield repaving | Saturday, October 10 overlay |
| Southbound US-31 Business Route lane closure | October 23 |
| Northbound US-31 to westbound I-96 ramp | November 11 |
| Remaining US-31/I-96 interchange closures | November 13 |
| Harvey and Sternberg reconstruction | Late November |
The intersection's end date has already moved. The city's August announcement and WZZM's coverage both said mid-November. The city's October engineering sheet now says late November and lists the project at 5% complete, with a $1,023,101 contract figure. If that holds, the state's interchange closures clear first and the Harvey and Sternberg rebuild finishes a week or two later, still ahead of the Dec. 31 funding deadline.
For anyone timing Lakes Mall, Meijer or Target trips around the work, the city posts updates at nortonshores.org/road-const, including the phase detour maps.
If a sale, purchase or move in Norton Shores falls during the construction weeks and you want help working closing dates, showings or inspections around the Harvey and Sternberg closures, Zuniga Real Estate Team can help you plan the schedule. Schedule a no-pressure conversation.
