You Have Grand Valley State University To Thank For The S-Curve

One of the most iconic structures of Grand Rapids' skylines (and the bane of many driver's existences during rush hour) is the 1.2-mile stretch of US-131 that goes across the Grand River and bends around the city locally known as the S-Curve because of its shape (no brainer).

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As a 1999 baby, this version of the S-Curve is all I know. The S-Curve we have today is very different from how it was before it was reconstructed in 2000. However, today's design is thanks to an unexpected ally in the S-Curve project: Grand Valley State University.

S-Curve Reconstruction

Constructed in 1961, the S-Curve served Grand Rapids as one of the most heavily trafficked highways in the State, with an average daily traffic load of approximately 110,000 vehicles.

However, there were known issues with the freeway including the curve causing many accidents, short on-ramps, and a low speed limit that made rush hour a nightmare. Plus, by 2000, much of Grand Rapids had experienced a bit of a boom in growth that the S-curve did not account for, making it generally unfit for the area.

So when a major structural issue was discovered in 1998 that required emergency repairs, the City jumped at the opportunity to reconstruct the whole S-Curve to bring it up with the times rather than performing a patch job. But there were a few issues the City needed to address, and Grand Valley State University (GVSU) had a big role to play in solving them.

Grand Valley's Crucial Input

GVSU's Downtown PEW Campus was broken up by the S-Curve with buildings on both sides of the curve. When reconstruction talks were underway, GVSU consistently consulted with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to build a highway that didn't impede on GVSU any more than it already was.

GVSU provided crucial input throughout the development of the new S-Curve:

• Since most of the S-Curve was on university grounds, the university's contracting rules allowed it to contract faster than city or state agencies, so work on the S-Curve was able to be accelerated (which was crucial considering how busy this highway was, and how impactful it was having it closed).
• The University hired a consultant to design the S-Curve whose designs were chosen by MDOT.

So if you're a fan of how the S-Curve looks and functions today, you have GVSU to thank for it. In total, the entire project took less than 2 years from when the issues were discovered. You can read about the entire reconstruction project here.