Escanaba's Ludington Street reopens to traffic Wednesday, Sept. 16, after a two-year infrastructure overhaul that tore up 16 blocks of the city's main commercial corridor to replace underground utilities.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, between 15th and 16th streets at the Escanaba Marketplace, 1501 Ludington Street, will mark the end of a project funded largely by an $18.9 million Michigan Clean Water Plan grant, according to the Daily Press and a joint announcement from the city and the Escanaba Downtown Development Authority.

Crews replaced sanitary, sewer and water mains, storm drains, lead service lines, sidewalks, curbs and road surface. Some of the pipes pulled from the ground had been there for up to 130 years, the Daily Press reported. The lead service line replacement was state-mandated following the Flint water crisis.

Beyond the underground work, the street got a new look. Bump-outs and wider sidewalks between Lake Shore Drive and 10th Street will slow traffic and encourage walking. A new traffic pattern and landscaping run from 10th to 16th streets. Bike lanes now line both sides of the full stretch. The city's Electrical Department also replaced streetlights along the corridor.

The construction hit downtown merchants hard. Some Ludington Street businesses saw income drop so sharply that sustained losses at that rate would have forced closures, the Daily Press reported.

"It has been a difficult time for businesses during the two-year project," Craig Woerpel, director of the Escanaba Downtown Development Authority, told the Daily Press. "This is a great way to celebrate a rebirth of our downtown."

The ceremony will feature Escanaba City Council members, city utility workers, construction crews, the Delta Chamber of Commerce and downtown business owners. The Escanaba High School Marching Band will perform as traffic returns.

Interim City Manager Melissa Becotte said motorists, pedestrians and cyclists are encouraged to return to downtown Escanaba to explore the rebuilt streetscape and support local shops.

A ceremonial first ride down Ludington will spotlight business owners who opened during construction. Brandy Torvinen, who held a ribbon-cutting for Water Lily Gifts & Gathering on May 1 while trucks dug up the street behind her, will ride in a 2022 Corvette. Curt and Kelly Spaulding, who opened CK Downtown Martini Lounge in June as utility lines were being replaced beneath them, will drive a 1979 Trans Am.

Jon Harris, owner of Beaten Path, plans to bicycle the 10 blocks to christen the new bike lane. Josh and Brittney Hoogerhyde, owners of Swedish Pantry, will ride the golf cart they used to shuttle customers to their restaurant during construction.

Barricades come down after the 1 p.m. ceremony. Benches and bike racks still need to be added to the sidewalks.