SOUTHFIELD (WWJ) Eastbound drivers of a large stretch of I-696 (primarily in Oakland County) will have to set their alarms for even earlier in order to make it to work on time.
A public meeting will be held in Oak Park on Tuesday to address concerns about the next phase of the Restore The Reuther Project, slated to start next month. It will shut down eastbound I-696 completely from Lahser Road in Southfield to I-75 in Royal Oak, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).
The meeting will take place Tuesday, February 4, at Temple Emanu-El at 14450 Ten Mile, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
“We fully acknowledge it is going to be a tough couple of years for people who need to go eastbound,” MDOT’s Diane Cross said speaking live on WWJ. “…For eastbound drivers, if that’s your route in the morning, you’re going to have to leave a lot earlier. You’ve got a very long detour that adds about 25 miles.”
Westbound 696 will remain open as crews rebuild both sides of the freeway, according to MDOT.
Cross said most drivers will probably try to use the mile roads to get around the closures.
“We’re probably talking about 100,000 drivers we have to detour, and we can’t put that much traffic on local roads,” she said. “So we have to take that traffic freeway to freeway.”
Eastbound traffic will be detoured southbound on M-10 (The Lodge), eastbound on M-8 (The Davison) and northbound on I-75, linking back up to eastbound 696, according to MDOT.
The tentative start date is March 1st, and the work will last for over two years, with an expected completion date of Fall of 2027.
In the meantime; Cross said drivers may see crews out on the shoulders of the freeway “in the next couple weeks” to set up temporary lighting, including the possibility of a weekend freeway closure.
She added, that because many drivers may reject the official detour, drivers should expect "so much more" traffic on the mile roads.
MDOT said communities affected by this phase of the project include Ferndale, Hazel Park, Huntington Woods, Lathrup Village, Madison Heights, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, Royal Oak, Southfield and Warren.
According to MDOT; 60 bridges will be repaired, along with the rebuilding of the freeway and drainage systems, to “ensure a safer roadway for drivers and pedestrians.”
The $250 million dollar project also includes a full-scale replacement of landscapes, play scapes and walking paths on the three-acre plaza that covers the freeway in Oak Park, according to Cross. She added the repair work will fix issues with icicles in tunnels in that area too.
The project is expected to support 2,385 jobs, MDOT said.
As for why westbound isn’t getting shutdown, Cross said it’s not possible to detour that volume of traffic in that direction: “If you come near I-75, to take that ramp, that’s a one lane ramp. How do we take four to five lanes of 696 traffic and pinch them down to one lane, to maybe send them north on I-75 to 59? Where as eastbound, you’ve got two lanes that allow the traffic to flow.”
Cross said MDOT officials will show off PowerPoints and graphics at the meeting to illustrate the official detour route, and address concerns.
“It is going to be rough, but it’s only going to be rough for the first few weeks while drivers try all their different detour routes, and then they’ll settle down having picked the route that works for them, even though they’re not happy about it. They’ll find a routine,” she said. “…There won’t be any opening or closing of ramps. There won’t be any transitions. It will stay that way. For two years."
You can learn more at drivingoakland.com.