The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has begun preparations for a rebuild of Interstate 696 between Evergreen Road and Interstate 275. The project is expected to be done by 2024, and is the third major highway project MDOT is doing in metro Detroit, along with projects on I-275 and I-96.
"Anyone who's driven 696 through Oakland County over the last few years knows we are out there regularly doing repairs," Diane Cross, a spokesperson for MDOT, said of I-696 in an interview with Hometown Life. "The roadway has held up as long as it possibly can, and it's now time to reconstruct the entire roadway."
In order to prepare for the rebuild, MDOT will be closing I-696 westbound beginning Friday, October 21 between Telegraph Road and I-275. The closure will last through 5 A.M. Monday, October 24.
MDOT is rebuilding nine miles of the highway. A bulk of the rebuilding will happen in 2023 and 2024. Drivers will experience delays this year as crews close lanes to widen the westbound shoulder and make some temporary repairs on the road. The eastbound side will be rebuilt next year, and MDOT is expecting to turn its attention to the westbound side in 2024.
Each side will have access to two lanes of traffic throughout the project.
Cross explained the project includes a road rebuild as well as storm sewer and ramp replacements. The impacted ramps are at Orchard Lake Road, American Drive, Franklin Road, Northwestern Highway, and Telegraph Road. The project will cost $275 million and support approximately 3,500 jobs.
Funding for this project is made possible by Governor Gretchen Whitmer's Rebuilding Michigan program to rebuild the state highways and bridges that are critical to Michigan's economy and carry the most traffic.
Though the project will certainly cause delays, Cross said traffic will calm down as time goes on. She implored drivers to be patient and exercise common sense when driving through areas with crews or during inclement weather.
"We know it's frustrating and we know people might be late, but it's not worth the risk to yourself and to our workers out there on the side of the road just doing their job," Cross said. "Please follow the rules and drive to the conditions. Please realize there's people working out there."
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Source: MDOT, HometownLife.com
