LoginMDOT to close part of I-696 for two years
The Michigan Department of Transportation plans to begin the final phase of its Restore the Reuther project on March 1, 2025.
Crews started working on the Walter P. Reuther Freeway (I-696) in 2019. MDOT spokesperson Diane Cross says they expect to finish rebuilding the entire road in 2027.
“We will rebuild that last stretch between roughly M-10 out to I-75,” she says. “And then in 2027, there’s a stretch between 75 and Dequindre that we’re going to do some major patching work.”
To prepare for this, MDOT will close westbound 696 between I-75 and M-10 from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Feb. 21 and 22, 2025.
“Then, come March 1, we are going to close 696 from M-10 to 75, and we will detour that traffic for two years,” she says.
Getting around it
That detour will be about 25 miles long.
“Traffic will go southbound on M-10, all the way down to M-8 (Davison), then northbound on I-75 back to 696,” she says.
Cross says it’ll take time for drivers to adjust to the closure.
“We fully acknowledge that a lot of people are not going to take that (detour),” she says. “Which means drivers in Oakland County are going to see much heavier traffic on any of the eastbound mile roads for the next couple of years.”
Other roads will see heavier traffic
How much time will this add to someone’s commute? Cross says there’s no one answer.
“They might try our detour one day, the next day they might say ‘I’m going to take Eight Mile,’” she says. “Then they might say, ‘No, I’m going to go up 14 Mile Road, so I need to leave a half-hour earlier than I thought.’”
Related: MDOT aims to end Fort Street train delays Downriver
Cross says the I-696 service drives will remain open, allowing people to reach local businesses near the freeway.
“Whenever we have construction projects, some areas suddenly get more traffic, then they get more customers,” she says.
MDOT will hold an open house for anyone who wants to learn more about the project. It’s happening at the Fitzgerald Recreation Center in Warren on March 24 at 6 p.m.
Drivers can also get a project overview at drivingoakland.com.
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