SOUTHFIELD (WWJ) -- If you travel westbound I-696 take note: Phase one of a major construction project started over the weekend, and will continue with lane closures through the end of the year.
The Michigan Department of Transportation work crews have begun lane closures to widen the shoulders of westbound I-696, along with pavement repair and temporary median crossovers.
This is preparation work for the $275 million Rebuilding Michigan project on eastbound and westbound I-696 between I-275 and Evergreen Road that will begin in spring 2023 and be completed by 2025.
Here's what drivers should expect...
6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15 - late December 2022:
Westbound I-696 will have two lanes open from Evergreen Road to I-275.All on/off ramps are expected to remain open.In 2023, eastbound I-696 will be rebuilt from I-275 to Evergreen Road with both directions of traffic on the current westbound side. In 2024, westbound I-696 will be rebuilt from Evergreen Road to I-275 with traffic sharing the current eastbound side. In 2025, there will be restoration of the median and crossover locations.
MDOT says the project will include "rebuilding the roadway from the base up" — including storm sewer replacement work and rebuilding ramps at Orchard Lake Road, American Drive, Franklin Road, M-10 (Northwestern Highway), and US-24 (Telegraph Road).
Funding for this project comes from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's Rebuilding Michigan program to rebuild the state highways and bridges that are critical to the state's economy and carry the most traffic.
And while there will be traffic tie-ups as a result of what she called "one of the really big projects," Cross said it's necessary.
"We're aware that this is going to be a tremendous inconvenience, and if there was some other way to do it, we would do it. But we've got the money right now with the bonding money so we've got to use it," Cross said, in an interview with WWJ's Dan Jenkins.
"And anybody who drives 696, you know this last few years, we're out there it seems like every year — at least every other year — doing patching. The Reuther 696 is in really rough shape in Oakland County, and it's time to take care of it."
To see a project map and for more information on the project, visit DrivingOakland.com.