With the most challenging part behind them, the M-1 Rail is still due for an early 2017 opening. Originally, the rail was to be up and running this fall. It was delayed due to expected testing time, Dan Lijana, M-1 communications officer said.
The most strenuous part of construction happened throughout the summer and fall of 2015, when large sections of Woodward Avenue were closed in order to lay down the custom track. ROADS & BRIDGES caught much of the construction action when visiting the site in June 2015.
Lijana said the construction will be finished by the end of the year, at which time safety certification will begin during the fourth quarter of the year.
Once open, riders will pay $1.50 to ride the rail, which will run along 3.3 miles of Woodward Avenue between downtown Detroit and New Center. The line shuts down at 10 p.m. during the week and on the weekend to target business and daytime commuter crowd.
Lijana also said that M-1 Rail’s original intent is to work in conjunction with existing Detroit transit including the People Mover and the Amtrak station.
