On with the orange barrel and detour show for eastbound Interstate 696 in Oakland County.
The two-year construction project on the freeway officially started Monday with eastbound I-696 shut down from M-10 to I-75. By Monday afternoon, orange barrels had been rolled into place.
The closure, which will last until 2027, marks the last phase of MDOT’s $275 million “Restore the Reuther” project. Eastbound 696 was originally supposed down Saturday but the closure was delayed due to weather.
MDOT Spokeswoman Diane Cross acknowledges that the closure is a “big deal” and will be a pain for drivers.
“We all use the same roads,” she said. “… We are all affected by this. But the thing is — the roadway is close to coming to the end of its lifespan. Fortunately, we have the funding to rebuild it.”
The closure also will impact ramps to and from Lahser, Evergreen, Southfield, Greenfield, Coolidge, Woodward, Campbell/Hilton, NB/SB I-75 will also be closed.
In addition to new pavement, markings and signage, work will include replacement of the Church Street Plaza bridge atop I-696 in Oak Park, plus improvement of 60 bridges and replacement of 1,100 drainage structures.
Westbound traffic will be maintained throughout the project, MDOT officials said. Once the new eastbound lanes are completed,
An estimated 100,000 drivers will be impacted by the closure each day, according to MDOT. However, department officials say the project is needed to replace the freeway’s decades-old pavement.
To get around the closure, MDOT’s designated detour will take motorists around the construction, about 20 miles south on M-10, or the Lodge Freeway, to the Davison Freeway through Highland Park to northbound I-75 and back to I-696.
Officials said they expect motorists will also use mile roads such as 8 Mile and 12 Mile to get around the construction zone, but drivers should expect heavier traffic on them.
Nikki Higgins is already one of those drivers who relies on mile roads. Higgins said she uses 696 to travel to her daughter’s house but because of frequent construction and fast drivers, she’s gotten used to navigating using streets like Nine Mile Road and Ten Mile Road rather than using the freeway.
She remembers having trouble when 696 did a recent closure in November that impacted her drive to IKEA in Canton.
“It’s not really stopping traffic. It’s just slowing down traffic,” Higgins, 52, said. “It was irritating because people don’t respect that you have to slow down so you should reduce your speed. That was the only irritation about that. If all they’re doing is putting it down to two lanes … everybody has to take their time. If you slow down, we all could get to where we’re going.
The “Restore the Reuther” project has involved several other phases. In the previous first phase, the project focused on repairs to the stretch of the freeway between Dequindre and its eastern terminus at I-94 in 2019. Then crews turned their attention to the area of the freeway between I-275 and the Lodge Freeway in 2023 and 2024.
cramirez@detroitnews.com
@CharlesERamirez
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