The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), in partnership with the Gun Lake Tribe, will have a public meeting from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, to discuss a 2020-21 project to rebuild the US-131/M-179 (Chief Noonday Road/129th Avenue) interchange.

The meeting will be held at the Gun Lake Tribal Administration Building, Multipurpose Room, 2872 Mission Drive, Shelbyville.

MDOT officials have said the Gun Lake Tribe plans to pick up the tab for about 95 percent of the project costs, estimated at between $20 and $25 million.

The U.S.-131 expressway exit originally was built in 1959 and the presence of the tribe’s Gun Lake Casino is helping drive the need for improvements. This project will involve rebuilding the US-131/M-179 interchange at the Bradley/Hopkins exit in Allegan County. The new interchange will be rebuilt as a single-point urban interchange (SPUI), similar to the one at US-131 and 44th Street.

MDOT representatives will provide project details, scheduling and traffic information. The public is invited to stop by anytime during the meeting to learn more about the project and provide comments. Also on hand will be representatives from the Gun Lake Tribe, Area township and county officials, and residents and interested stakeholders.

Preliminary work will begin this fall but the bulk of the project will take place in 2021.