“All those who travel along U.S.-131 and M-179, as well as those traveling Allegan County, will benefit from the improved operations and safety of this single point urban interchange,” Richard told Tribal Business News. The Gun Lake Tribe is funding roughly $22 million of the project cost, and MDOT is kicking in the remaining $4 million to benefit the whole county and save the state money in repairs further down the line, said agency spokesperson John Richard. “Someone’s going to chip in and help build new infrastructure.” “We spearheaded the whole project, and MDOT’s an amazing partner because, ‘Hey, wow, we don’t get this every day,’” Shagonaby said of the agency’s reaction.

It’s planning a $100 million facility expansion slated to begin this fall, according to a tribal representative, and strategically planned to upgrade supporting road infrastructure beforehand.

The tribe has operated the Gun Lake Casino in the area for a decade, and relies on the infrastructure for the safe entry and exit of visitors. “With that, it’ll spur other economic growth in the area, because you have brand new infrastructure and it’ll be able to handle much more traffic quicker and safer.” “It’s a big deal,”John Shagonaby, government affairs officer for the Gun Lake Tribe, told Tribal Business News.

The new ramp will have what’s called a single point urban interchange designed to move high volumes of traffic through limited space safely. The two-year project the tribe initially proposed to state officials in 2017 will reconfigure the existing 62-year-old, two-lane bridge at the rough entrance to the tribal reservation along the U.S.-131/M-179 interchange in Allegan County, about 25 miles south of Grand Rapids. The Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians (Gun Lake Tribe) has spearheaded a partnership with the Michigan Department of Transportation for a $26 million highway upgrade project near the tribe’s casino.

Gun lake casino expansion opening