Why Wealthy Street In Grand Rapids Is Closed For The Next Month

It's a running joke here in Michigan that we have four seasons: spring, construction, fall, and winter. We are currently in the midst of construction season here in Grand Rapids, with a new amphitheater, a new soccer stadium, Division being renovated, and more all happening simultaneously.

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Another project can be added to the list of projects downtown, and this one is a significant development for two reasons. For most of us locally, it's because it will cause a major street to be closed for a month.

Mary Free Bed's New Rehabilitation Hospital

If you've gone through the roundabout at Wealthy St. and Jefferson St., you'll probably have noticed a brand new structure going up on the intersection. While I initially thought it was the soccer stadium based on the roundness of the structure, the answer is much cooler.

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What is being built instead is Michigan's first dedicated children's rehabilitation hospital. This expansion is adjacent to the Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, as the current rehab hospital lacks a large unit for pediatric patients. The structure occupies a portion of the parking lot that was previously open to workers and the public.

Road Closure Time Frame

From July 16 to August 18th, Wealthy St. will be closed to through traffic between Jefferson St. and Cass Ave. The street is still accessible to hospital patients and visitors. Part of the closures is so construction vehicles have free mobility to move around, which is essential for projects like adding a new sky bridge walkway connection between the two Mary Free Bed buildings.

While road closures are inconvenient, this is possibly the best moral reason ever for a road to be closed for a month. How can you complain about a road closure when it's so that struggling children can get the help they need?

That's what I thought. The hospital is expected to be completed sometime next year.