New U.S. 131 route to downtown Kalamazoo opens after decades of dialogue

KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI — A Metro bus full of Kalamazoo-area officials was the first vehicle to traverse a new U.S. 131 route on Friday, Nov. 7.

It’s a $19 million project that took nearly 25 years to come to fruition, State Sen. Sean McCann said at a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday morning.

Cones on the new business route interchange north of downtown Kalamazoo were picked up Friday afternoon, opening the route after eight months of construction.

The business route expansion provides a connection to U.S. 131 that didn’t exist before. Previously, traffic could only go north or come in from the north on U.S. 131 via the business route.

The map, below, shows the new routes in orange and the previously existing routes in gray.

Two ramps were added to the interchange -- a paved ramp to the so