
The Berrien County Board of Commissioners is considering a resolution to make some requests of the Michigan Department of Transportation as it plans to rebuild Main Street in St. Joseph in 2027.
At the Thursday’s regular meeting, Commissioner Jim Curran said the Administration Committee has laid out four requests for the new road design to ensure county operations aren’t hampered. They include keeping in place the left turn lane from Main to Pearl Street that serves as the main access point for traffic heading to the County Administration Building.
“If they don’t agree to that, then we’re basically flipping this building 180 degrees,” Curran said. “They’re going to have to come in off of the traffic light and come in at the south end of the building, and that would require more discussion on our part as to how we’re going to reconfigure this building. So we’re asking them to keep the left turnout here.”
Curran said the current plan eliminates that left turn. Another request is that MDOT reinstate 54 public parking spaces that otherwise would be eliminated. He said that’s for the sake of the city of St. Joseph, where parking is always the big issue.
The third request is to maintain 24/7 access for the Berrien County Jail, while the fourth request is for the laying of broadband conduit so all county facilities in the city can be connected. Curran said the county commission will consider that list of requests to MDOT with a resolution soon.
“If they agree to the four things then I believe we are comfortable giving them a resolution of support for the project.”
MDOT previously asked the county for that resolution of support, which commissioners declined to give.
Speaking Thursday, Sheriff Chuck Heit thanked commissioners for including the jail in its list of concerns, saying they should oppose the MDOT project altogether if constant jail access is not maintained.