(WXYZ) — It has been nearly a year since the eastbound lanes of I-696 closed in Oakland County. It's been a source of frustration for so many drivers in metro Detroit.
But, the traffic headaches are about to get worse, with more closures planned at the I-75 and I-696 interchange.
Starting in early March and lasting through early summer, the closures are:
- Westbound I-696 ramp to southbound I-75 will be closed and detoured via southbound M-53 (Van Dyke Avenue) and westbound M-102 (8 Mile Road) to southbound I-75.
- Westbound I-696 ramp to northbound I-75 will be closed and detoured via northbound M-53 (Van Dyke Avenue) and westbound M-59 to northbound I-75.
- Northbound I-75 ramp to westbound I-696 will be closed and detoured via westbound M-102 (8 Mile Road) and northbound M-10 to westbound I-696.
Then, starting in early April and lasting through the early summer, the closure is:
- Southbound I-75 ramp to westbound I-696 will be closed and detoured via westbound M-102 (8 Mile Road) and northbound M-10 to westbound I-696.
“It’s been a mess," Robert Koch, who lives in the area near the construction, said.
I met Koch while sipping coffee and reading a book at Coffee and Bark in Hazel Park.
“How do you like it as far as accessibility to the rest of the area?” I asked.
“It’s one of the reasons I moved there, I mean, not only the neighborhood and the houses, but to have I-696 and I-75 as a jumping off point like a minute away, is just ideal," he said.
But that ideal reality has been a bit of a mess ever since eastbound I-696 shut down. With ramp closures planned, he fears cars will be going through streets near his home.
“I think it’s 8,000-10,000 cars a day go by my house now, and it's, it's non-stop. It’s hard for me to get out of my driveway sometimes," he said.
“They’re deteriorating, they’re old, they’re from the 80s, so we have to do it now," Brian Traverse, the MDOT project manager, said. “If you remember last year, we reconstructed all of the eastbound side, there was no traffic over there, this year we have to reconstruct the westbound side and the ramps those have live traffic on them.”
As for the eastbound I-696 construction, it's nearly 50% complete. But the cold has played a factor in getting the work done.
“There are days where we have to call off just because of the temperatures, to be safe to have workers out there, equipment doesn’t work well, water freezes, we work but not quite as productive as we would have hoped," he said.
However, it hasn't delayed the project and they are still on schedule to reopen by the end of 2026, with a goal of opening early.
In 2027, work will begin on the reconstruction of I-696 between I-75 and Dequindre, but luckily, that work will not require a complete closure of the freeway.
