Medical center patients need to consider alternative routes due to construction.

Medical center patients need to consider alternative routes.

HART — Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital is advising patients, families, staff and others visiting its clinic in Hart to take an alternate route because of construction that closes a section of Polk Road just west of the facility. Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital Family Medicine-Hart is at the corner of Polk Road and 72^nd Avenue. Traffic heading east toward the clinic will be affected.

During construction, US-31 BR will be closed between the US-31 northbound ramps and Comfort Drive (approximately 700 feet east of the northbound US-31 ramps), according to the Michigan Department of Transportation. Traffic will be detoured via US-31, Monroe Road, and Old US-31 (Oceana Drive). Access will be maintained to homes and businesses.

Motorists can take an alternate detour: Take the Hart exit at Polk Road (Exit 149) and head west to northbound 56th Avenue, east on Tyler Road and south on 72nd Avenue.

The road construction began on Sept. 8 and is expected to last until early November. According to MDOT, the construction replaces a 40-plus-year-old culvert on US-31 BR over Russell Creek in the city of Hart for proper flow and drainage under the roadway.