The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has announced that it expects the I-696 corridor, a $90 million project, which has been intermittently closed to traffic since constructions began, to be fully open to traffic before 2019.
The corridor runs between I-94 and I-75, and is a crucial commuter and freight artery in the Detroit metropolitan area. In a "Restore the Reuther" progress report released Monday, MDOT said "measures are in place to allow work to continue in colder temperatures, and we are prepared to protect the new pavement from the elements as winter approaches. We expect to reopen both eastbound and westbound I-696 and all ramps this year. If weather precludes all permanent work from being completed, temporary work will be done to safely open the roadway and any remaining work will be completed in the spring of 2019."
The project timeline called for a full shut down of the westbound lanes of I-696 between I-94 and I-75 this past spring, while the eastbound lanes remained open. That pattern has this year switched, and EB lanes are closed for construction after eastbound traffic was shifted to the newly paved westbound lanes in August. Westbound traffic remains shut down between I-94 and I-75.
Roads & Bridges visited this project during earlier phases of construction.
