48th and Baldwin Is Waiting on a Water Test, Not a Calendar Date

"It's a growing area, so we're always looking at upgrades and efficiencies to traffic, especially when you have increased traffic starting to come through that, because that can start to cause backups and delays." Alex Doty, communications administrator for the Ottawa County Road Commission, said that in June 2025. At the time, the commission had just told Georgetown Township trustees it planned two roundabouts on 48th Avenue.

Fifteen months later, the first of those roundabouts, at 48th Avenue and Baldwin Street, is the reason for a long detour on the north side of Jenison. The intersection has been closed in every direction since late July. As of the September 29 project update, it was still closed and still had no new reopening date.

Each date published so far has been a reasonable estimate. The trouble is that the roundabout depends on another project. A new 24-inch township water main runs under the same pavement, and the engineers' updates have tied the roundabout's progress to that pipe being installed through the intersection and passing its tests. That makes the water main schedule the one to watch.

Four Published Dates, One Closed Intersection

If you've tried to work out when you'll get your old route back, you've probably run into more than one answer. Here is what each source has said:

The August 30 date applied to the first stretch of water main work, south of Tyler Street, before the intersection was involved. The October 17 date is the Road Commission's own schedule for the roundabout, and the Ottawa News Network says every date in its tables is an estimate that can change without notice. The end-of-October forecast is the only one that came from the team tracking both projects at once. Even that one was written before the latest round of testing began.

How the Pipe Set the Roundabout's Schedule

The weekly updates from Prein & Newhof, the township's engineer, show the order of events clearly. Dykema Excavators is the contractor on the water main. The roundabout is a separate Road Commission contract on the same stretch of road.

1. July 17. A material shortage stopped the water main contractor from laying more pipe northward. Crews spent the week testing, making repairs and restoring the road while they waited for more pipe.
2. July 24. The Road Commission's contractor planned to close the 48th and Baldwin intersection on Thursday, July 30.
3. July 27. After what the update called "a miscommunication regarding schedule," the intersection closed three days early, on that Monday morning, so surface removal could begin.
4. July 31. Crews milled the asphalt. The update said the roundabout could be built back up only once the water main was installed through the intersection.
5. August 11. The roundabout contractor had been off site after removing the asphalt because the water main crew was working in the intersection. The same update said that contractor would next finish surface removals and begin building up the roundabout.
6. August 14. The water main inside the roundabout area was finished and connected to the existing main on Baldwin Street. The update said roundabout construction would begin once that section passed testing.
7. August 21. Testing of the water main within the roundabout limits began, while utility companies worked on and relocated utilities in and around the intersection.
8. August 31. Testing inside the roundabout area was complete.

For most of August, the intersection was shared among the water main crew, the utility companies and the roundabout contractor, and the main through it did not clear testing until the last week of the month. Counting from Aug. 31, the Road Commission's Oct. 17 finish would allow about seven weeks to finish a roundabout once the pipe beneath it had passed testing. That is a tight but believable window. The open question is whether anything else holds it up.

What the September 29 Update Leaves Open

Two things are still unfinished, and the latest update describes them in order.

The first is the roundabout itself, which the update says "is still under construction." The second is the last section of 48th Avenue outside the roundabout. Most of the water main is now in the ground and being tested. Once testing is done, crews will make the final connections and then rebuild and repave that last stretch.

This is the same dependency again on a smaller scale. In mid-August, the contractor expected to receive its remaining materials around the middle of September, finish the water main, and then restore the road. On Sept. 9, crews were set to lay pipe just south of the Baldwin intersection and might also be working at the Rush Creek crossing.

The southern end is in better shape than the detour signs suggest. The top layer of asphalt went down in early September from Port Sheldon Street to just north of Oak Lane Drive, and driveways along that stretch got their final layer too. The engineers had already warned that closures would stay in place after paving. Through traffic still can't use the road. Local traffic headed to Sutherland Springs Condominium is told to turn onto 48th Avenue from Port Sheldon Street.

The most reliable way to follow the reopening is the email list on the Prein & Newhof project page. The updates there are written by the people watching the pressure tests. You can sign up on the 48th Ave Transmission Main Phase 2 page.

Why a 24-Inch Main Runs Under the Intersection

The water main is the bigger of the two projects, and it explains why both had to happen together. Georgetown Township has said the 24-inch main is meant to handle higher water use in summer. The 2026 phase runs the main north from Port Sheldon Street to Baldwin Street, then east on Baldwin to Fox Meadow Drive.

The township does not treat its own water. Its water is bought through Ottawa County from the City of Wyoming's treatment plant, which draws from Lake Michigan. In May 2026, the township said Wyoming serves Georgetown along with ten other West Michigan communities. That month, construction on Wyoming's third transmission main temporarily reduced system capacity and led to outdoor watering restrictions. The township's water rate study projected about 100 new water connections a year. More connections mean more demand in summer, which is the problem a larger pipe is built to solve.

The way the township is paying for it shows up on household bills. A September 2025 memo from the township's municipal advisor, Andy Campbell, put the transmission main replacement on 48th Avenue and Baldwin Street at an estimated $18 million. That is a project estimate, not a final cost. The board weighed two options: borrow through a bond, or raise water rates a bit more and pay cash. The memo estimated the difference at about $15 per quarter for a typical home using 15,000 gallons per quarter. Borrowing would have cost ratepayers about $8 million in bond fees and interest over 20 years. After more than a year of discussion, the board chose the slightly higher rates and avoided the debt costs.

Doing the roundabout during the same closure follows from that. Once the intersection was dug up for a 24-inch pipe, the Road Commission could rebuild it as a roundabout without closing it a second time. The Road Commission estimated the roundabout at $1.3 million, with state and federal transportation funds covering part of the cost.

October's Other Closures Around the Detour

The detour for this stage of work sends through traffic along Port Sheldon Street, 56th Avenue, 36th Avenue and Bauer Road. Several of those roads, along with others nearby, have their own work scheduled this fall. Here are the dates in the Sept. 25 Ottawa News Network update:

• Baldwin Street, 20th Avenue to Cottonwood Drive. Road Commission resurfacing, Sept. 28 through Oct. 30, with lane closures.
• 28th Avenue, Hudsonville city limits to Bauer Road. Resurfacing that started Aug. 24 and runs into October, with lane closures.
• Port Sheldon Street, 12th Avenue to 8th Avenue. Sanitary sewer work, road closed Sept. 17 through 30.
• 48th Avenue, Port Sheldon Street to Bauer Road. The water main permit, listed March 30 through Nov. 30 with the road closed.

The last item matters most. The Nov. 30 water main date is later than any reopening estimate for the intersection, and it matches the engineers' original plan to work from April through November. Even after the roundabout opens, there may be restoration crews on 48th Avenue into late fall. The project updates already ask drivers to expect crews restoring the roads and the grass along them.

Some of the other work on this corridor is done. Blendon Township's water main on Tyler Street wrapped up in late July, and the street reopened, with crews returning only for final restoration.

Bauer Road Gets Its Roundabout in 2027

This is the first of two roundabouts on 48th Avenue. The Road Commission's plan, presented to the township board in June 2025, calls for a second one at 48th Avenue and Bauer Road in 2027, also estimated at $1.3 million. Both intersections were four-way stops. Doty said the road would be closed and traffic detoured for each project. When he made the announcement, he didn't yet know how long each closure would last.

Some township trustees questioned the plan at that June meeting. Their concern was that roundabouts with several lanes can be too narrow or confusing for drivers. Doty's explanation was that drivers only have to yield instead of coming to a full stop, and that roundabouts tend to reduce crashes.

Bauer Road is part of this fall's detour, and it is also the next intersection scheduled to close. The schedule published so far gives no closure dates for that work.

If you live on the 48th Avenue corridor or are planning a move around these projects, Bialik Real Estate can help you work through the timing. Our Grandville-based team follows Georgetown Township and Ottawa County road work closely, and we're glad to talk through how this fall's closures and next year's Bauer Road work could affect showings, moving day or your daily routes.