December 6, 2018, MDOT announced that a $20 million discretionary grant had been received to complete the final phase of construction, building the last of freeway required to connect US 31 to I-94. In 2020, work began on the final link of the St. Joseph Valley Parkway to connect the US 31 freeway to I-94 east of Benton Harbor. The project cost $121.5 million dollars and involved relocating the interchange with the eastern terminus of BL I-94 and reconstructing of I-94 in the area. Work on that interchange started in September 2020. US 31 was rerouted to follow its new freeway section for from the previous end of the freeway at Napier Avenue that opened in 2003 to I-94 at BL I-94, where US 31 then followed I-94 to the I-196 interchange as before. This new routing opened on November 9, 2022. Future , travelers had to use either US 31 through Grand Haven or 68th Avenue through Eastmanville to cross the Grand River in Ottawa County. A new highway, part of a long-range plan to build a US 31 bypass of Grand Haven, provides a river crossing almost equidistant between the two, greatly reducing drive times between areas north and south of the river. A drive from Nunica to Robinson is a trip; the new highway provides a route closer to in length. Called M-231, this highway is a scaled-down bypass of US 31 through Grand Haven, even though it will not physically connect to US 31. By January 4, 2013, MDOT had completed work for this highway, including a bridge over North Cedar Drive, additional ramps at the I-96 and M-104 interchange, and reconstruction and widening of M-104 near I-96. The department had also completed a reconfiguration of the intersection between M-104 and Cleveland Drive and widening the bridge that carries M-104 over I-96. The expected date of completion for M-231 was set for sometime in 2016 pending funding availability. MDOT planned to build of the new highway starting in 2013, including the bridges over the Grand River and Little Robinson Creek. The 2005 SAFETEA-LU transportation bill provided funding earmarked for the project by US Representative Pete Hoekstra from Holland as well as matching funds from the state's Michigan Jobs Today program. The total cost of the project was expected to be near $150 million. On October 30, 2015, the highway opened to traffic. Memorial designations and tourist