BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. (WXYZ) — Woodward is known for its easy cruising, but the Michigan Department of Transportation is giving an early heads up, as a section of Woodward will be closing, forcing drivers to hit the brakes.
The good news is this closure will not happen until 2027, but MDOT is hosting a meeting on Wednesday to get the word out.
Watch Ali's report below
Tillie Camhi has worked at Just Girls Boutique on Woodward at Long Lake for the last eight years.
“A lot of people come from that direction, I come from that direction," Camhi said, who went on to say that her heart is in this business. “Yes, it is, I treat it like a family, and they are like family to me.”
So when I told her that Woodward would eventually be shutting down, it struck a nerve.
“The last thing honestly we need is a closing. This is a family-owned business that works their tail to the bone, and it breaks my heart when things like that happen," Camhi said.
In 2027, MDOT is planning to replace a 97-year-old Culvert — essentially an underground drainage structure — over the Stoney Croft drain. The structure helps support Woodward and the thousands of cars that drive on it daily.
David Anason is an engineer with MDOT. He tells me Woodward will need to close for three months, between Long Lake Road and Hickory Grove Road, in both directions, for three months to get the work done.
“Its sort of like a small bridge that is starting to fail, it is not failing right now, but we want to get to it while it still has structural value," Anason said. “We’ve been working with the communities, Bloomfield and Bloomfield Hills, to figure out which is the least impactful way to do this construction, and you know we decided that to impact the least amount of people for the shortest amount of time, it is best to close Woodward, both northbound and southbound, and just get the construction over with in three and a half months.”
The good news is this will not impact the Woodward Dream Cruise, as the closure will happen after the cruise. When the closure does happen, MDOT plans to detour traffic to Telegraph. The focus now is on getting the word out and warning both businesses and drivers about the closure.
“It is going to be a hard closure, because we have doctor’s appointments that way, my parents live south on Woodward, and pretty much it is just a main thoroughfare," said Bloomfield Township resident Colleen Nagle.
“I know it is necessary and all of that, but to me, there's got to be a better way to do the roads properly to begin with, then to have to redo them every five minutes," Camhi said.
MDOT is hosting a public meeting on Wednesday to answer questions about the closure; that's happening today from 4-7 p.m. at the City of Bloomfield Hills Commission Room, located at 45 E. Long Lake Road.
