It is unlikely that the Bypass would reduce traffic for local residents on U.S. 131. Critics fear the Bypass would destroy these very attributes and accelerate sprawl. One township affected by the project is working with consultants to develop an alternative transportation plan. The township favors upgrading existing roads and investigating less expensive alternatives that would minimize damage to prime farmland and sharply reduce the number of homes that would have to be moved. The primary environmental concerns include loss of prime farmland and open space and degradation of wetlands and two world-class trout streams.
Emmet County has one of the highest rates of farmland loss in the state.
Erosion from road construction and runoff would endanger freshwater marshes in the Bear River and Tannery Creek watersheds, largely undeveloped rivers that empty into Lake Michigan in Petoskey.