"Diverging diamond" to be key to Cascade intersection

Submitted by WZZM13, News Staff

Wednesday, January 28th, 2015, 6:54pm

CASCADE, Mich. (WZZM) - The interchange at I-96 at Cascade Road will be rebuilt this year and next year. It will feature a new, diverging diamond design that highway engineers say is safer, cheaper, and improves traffic flow.

MDOT will host an open house on its plans Monday at the Heather Hills Retirement Village from 4:00pm to 6:00pm.

Diverging diamonds can be unnerving for drivers until they get used to them. They are pulled over to the opposite side of traffic to criss-cross the intersection. The key, however, is a big reduction in left turns. That speeds traffic and improves the speed that traffic flows through. It also allows construction to occur in a smaller footprint, reducing costs up to 70 percent.

Preliminary work will begin this year, with most of the reconstruction occurring in 2016.

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Ribbon cutting for airport's concourse B expansion

Submitted by WZZM13, News Staff

Wednesday, January 28th, 2015, 1:37pm

CASCADE, Mich. (WZZM) – The newly renovated and expanded concourse B terminal at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport is scheduled to be unveiled Wednesday at 10 a.m.

"To see the progress that we've made from June of 2013 to now is amazing," said Tara Hernandez, the airport's Marketing and Communications Manager. "We had someone actually email us the other day and said 'I thought I landed at the airport…it just looks completely different.'"

Two new airline gates, passenger hold rooms and the MI Tap Room Restaurant and Bar are some of the new additions added. The aesthetics of the terminal have also been updated with new terrazzo flooring and West Michigan-themed murals.

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Submitted by WZZM13, News Staff

Wednesday, January 28th, 2015, 1:02pm

CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WZZM) -- For more than six months, a large brown dog has wandered a neighborhood, and despite multiple attempts to capture the animal, it remains on the loose.

Joe Daineles, a supervisor at Kent Animal Control, says dozens of attempts have been made to try to capture the dog. They have tried making friends with the dog and leashing it. Live traps have been used with bait. They even called in extra help.

"We went out with the zoo veterinarian and their tranquilizers," explains Daineles, but the tranquilizer didn't work.

Animal control hasn't been the only group to try to catch the dog. Neighbors have brought in other dog rescue organizations, but none has been able to trap the dog. One resident explains, "I tried luring him in, but then the door was frozen shut, I jiggled it, and he ran away."

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BISSELL turns pet messes into donations with #PetHappens

Submitted by BISSELL Pet Fou... on Wednesday, January 28th, 7:00 am

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.– BISSELL Homecare, Inc. knows that life with pets can be messy, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. BISSELL is setting out to embrace pet messes, creating a lighthearted campaign around the dirtier side of being a pet parent—like fur balls and garbage raids. To educate consumers on helpful ways to eliminate the messes (and support pet causes), BISSELL launched the #PetHappens campaign.

Through the campaign, BISSELL invites pet lovers to share their stories and photos of pet messes with #PetHappens on Twitter and Instagram from now until February 15, 2015. Each post tagged with #PetHappens will trigger a $1 donation to the BISSELL Pet Foundation®, up to $50,000*.

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Cascade Rd. and I-96 interchange to be redesigned

Submitted by WZZM13, News Staff

Tuesday, January 27th, 2015, 1:22am

GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WZZM) -- The busy interchange between I-96 and Cascade Rd. is going to be redesigned and rebuilt, MDOT said Monday.

The project is scheduled to start in late July or early August and be finished by December 2016, and MDOT has an open house scheduled next Monday for the public to learn more about it. MDOT says the project makes safety and operational improvements to the interchange.

MDOT says the current interchange will be replaced with a diverging diamond interchange. Cascade over I-96 will also be made into a divided roadway, with separate bridges for westbound and eastbound traffic. Additionally, Cascade will be resurfaced between Kenmoor Ave. and Forest Hill Ave. Sidewalks are also going to be added along Cascade from Kenmoor to East Paris Ave., and Cascade will get new traffic signals at the freeway ramps.

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Submitted by Bob Brenzing, Web Producer

Monday, January 26th, 2015, 1:16pm

GRAND RAPIDS (WZZM/USA TODAY) - If you are in West Michigan and are hoping to head east this week, good luck.

Delta has canceled all Grand Rapids Ford Airport flights to the east coast as of noon Monday. While at the airport Monday morning, WZZM saw other flights being canceled.

Airlines reacted to a major snowstorm that's expected to wallop parts of the Northeast by cancelling more than 5,200 flights through Wednesday. Of those, at least 3,200 were already announced by Sunday – a day before the storm's first flakes fell along the East Coast.

Nearly every big airline also said they would waive change fees for customers scheduled to fly into dozens of airports the storm's path.

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My Town Holland: Elzinga & Volkers celebrates 70th anniversary with 70 random acts of kindness

Submitted by Megan Susterich on Saturday, January 24th, 7:00 am

HOLLAND, Mich.-- Elzinga & Volkers (E&V), a leading provider of construction management services, will celebrate its 70th anniversary by launching a 70 Random Acts of Kindness initiative throughout West Michigan.

The year-long program will see all employees continuing to give back to the communities that have supported E&V’s growth over the past seven decades. Team members will venture out into the community with the financial resources to make a difference wherever they feel drawn to help. During the campaign, everyone’s goal will be the same: make a positive impact in the lives of the people they meet.