Construction Crews Complete $23M Overpass Near The Gun Lake Casino

The Gun Lake Tribe and the Gun Lake Casino celebrated the grand opening of a $23 million bridge that will provide better access to the tribe’s casino and surrounding communities. 

The construction project was five years in the making, leading to a much-anticipated ribbon-cutting event on Tuesday, October 11th, 2022. The event welcomed members of the Gun Lake Tribe of Pottawatomi Indians, The Ogitch-e-Daa Society, as well as the Michigan Department of Transportation and Allegan County Road Commission.

“There are many things that have made this a once-in-a-career project, especially the generosity of the Gun Lake Tribe and the relationships that have developed over the whole process,” said MDOT project manager and engineer Thomas Sabin. “It’s been five years in the making, and we are proud to have this open to the public slightly ahead of schedule.”

Funding

The majority of the project was funded by the Gun Lake Tribe, with MDOT providing a much smaller amount of funds. According to MDOT, the Gun Lake Tribe funded more than 90% of the project.

Bob Peters, chairman of the Gun Lake Tribe, commented on the opening of the bridge, stating, “This improved gateway is vital to our vision, and we are thankful that MDOT helped make it a reality.” 

“MDOT was able to replace and modernize this interchange while keeping it open and maintaining access for our customers,” said Peters.

Exit Information

The new M-179 overpass features a single-point urban interchange (SPUI), which allows large volumes of traffic to move through the intersection quickly. The new interchange is located at exit 61 on US-131. 

About the Gun Lake Casino

The Gun Lake Casino is located between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo at 1123 129th Ave, Wayland, MI 49348.

The casino features over 2,200 slot machines, 50 table games, and multiple restaurants, bars, and cafés.

Mac Daniel is a Michigan native and freelance writer for PlayOnlineCasino and PlayOnlineSportsBetting. He has experience writing about a wide variety of topics, including healthcare, tourism, non-profit organizations, and most recently casino and sportsbetting news. To check out more of his work, visit: playonlinemichigan.com