LINCOLN PARK — Orange barrels soon will appear on Fort Street for a major resurfacing project.

Ajax Paving has been awarded a $6.4 million contract for four miles of pavement repairs and bituminous asphalt resurfacing of Fort Street from I-75 to Goddard Road.

The project will include a realignment of the Champaign Street intersection to reduce the curve angle there and improve safety, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation.

“This work will extend the pavement life by at least 10 years,” said Michael Budai, a traffic and safety engineer at MDOT’s Taylor office.

MDOT also is working with the Cruisin’ Downriver committee to make sure construction work on Fort Street doesn’t interfere with the event.

The sixth annual Cruisin’ Downriver, set for June 25, is expected to attract thousands of car enthusiasts to the Fort Street route from Outer Drive in Lincoln Park to Sibley Road in Riverview.

“From our perspective, we’re trying to do everything we can to work around the cruise date,” Budai said. “We understand the importance of this event and that it is traditionally held the last Saturday in June.”

MDOT has arranged for the project to be completed in two phases to work around the Cruisin’ Downriver event.

The first phase, which is scheduled to begin April 25, will consist of just over two miles of Fort Street from I-75 to Southfield Road. The phase is scheduled to be completed by the end of June.

During that period, traffic will be restricted to two lanes in each direction from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

Fort Street traffic may be further reduced to one lane in each direction from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Mondays through Fridays and on weekends, according to MDOT.

“All lane restrictions will be removed for the cruise,” Budai said. “The contractor is responsible for cleanup to include roadway sweeping such that there is no construction debris on the roadway that may damage vehicles.”

The second phase of the project, construction work on Fort Street between Southfield and Goddard, will not begin until July 15, thus not impacting the Cruisin’ Downriver route, according to Budai.

While MDOT’s construction schedule won’t affect Cruisin’ Downriver this June, the same can’t be said with any certainty for 2006 when work on a two-year total reconstruction project on Fort Street between Goddard and Sibley will begin.

“We are trying to do everything we can to coincide our (2006) construction dates to work around the cruise,” Budai said. “The median isn’t going to be pretty. There is going to be storm sewers, stone and dirt.”

For more information on Cruisin’ Downriver, visit www.cruisindownriver.com.

Contact Auto Editor Mike Schaffer via e-mail at schaffer@heritage.com or by phone at 1-734-246-0855.