If you take 31 North thru Grand Haven, starting at Robbins Road, which as you know 31 North is straight thru. We can both start at the same location, you going straight thru, and me, buzzing the back roads, I'll be at the drawbridge way before you ever get there, and be long gone! If I come out at Applebees right before the drawbridge, all I have to do at worst case is wait for one red light, then gone. The drawbridge is unavoidable tho unless you take a >30 mile detour.
Nice thing about hitting 31 North from Applebees in heavy traffic is a very courteous tourist may stop to let you in, and hold up traffic, pissing everyone off behind "her" that is still in the gauntlet of red lights thru that stretch. I always smile and wave back
You see Scott, you made it from Robbins Road, and quite possibly, may have passed Grant Ave., but you're still way back on the waiting list to cross Jackson to get over the drawbridge, and hopefully timing is on your side, because they do open the drawbridge on a regular basis during the summer, and it could easily be standing traffic for several miles in all directions. Then ya have to go thru all the red lights on the main drag, and some of these aren't even a hundred yards apart!
There is a 31 bypass going in, at least there seems to be. A former congressman bought up as much property along this trek as he could before the plan was "officially" hatched
This mega dollar bypass terminates in a small town which has a co-op, a combination bar/general store, (which is always busy on the bar side) a restaurant, and you may have to ding the bell a few times at the post office to get some attention! You can get on I96 from here tho, but it is NO bypass to the rest of 31, because ya still have to get thru Muskegon! (Lil Detroit)
