LUNA PIER, Mich. – One month from Friday, April 8, the skies will turn dark in the middle of the afternoon as one small sliver of Michigan will see a total solar eclipse.
The eclipse path will go right across the Michigan-Ohio border in Luna Pier.
Luna Pier Mayor Jim Gardner is looking forward to the experience.
“We really were planning on having some kind of celebration, just with our name and being in the path is fantastic,” said Gardner.
There are traffic safety concerns that the city must consider first.
There is currently construction on an I-75 overpass just outside the city.
“It’s going to be twice as wide as the old one,” Gardner said. “The other one was just two lanes, no room for pedestrians or bicycles. This one’s going to have a bicycle and pedestrian lane separated from traffic, so we’re excited about the project.”
The timing of the project is the problem. It won’t be completed until July, after the solar eclipse.
“Getting into the city is not really very hard, but getting back out again is a little more challenging, especially if you try to get a lot of cars leaving at the same time and getting on I-75 going northbound with lane closures also on I-75,” Gardner said. “Everybody needs to know that it’s going to get a little cozy here, and traffic is going to be a problem.”
All they can do is plan.
“We are coordinating with other police departments, with our fire department, with our emergency manager,” Gardner said. “Our police chief is really taking the lead on that and contacting other agencies to standby because we don’t know how many we’re going to get.”