I-75 to reopen in Detroit in time for Fourth of July weekend
Contact:
Brenda V. Peek, MDOT Office of Communications, 248-483-5109
Agency:
Transportation
June 29, 2009 -- Area residents joined state and local officials at a press conference and community celebration today to mark the early reopening of a 1.5-mile stretch of I-75 near the Detroit-Windsor international border crossing. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) originally scheduled the roadway to reopen in late fall 2009, but crews finished work five months ahead of schedule, allowing for the July 2 reopening.
The section of I-75 - which runs from Rosa Parks Boulevard to Clark Street in southwest Detroit - was rebuilt as part of the I-75 Ambassador Bridge Gateway Project. This $230 million reconstruction effort is designed to improve efficiency for commercial traffic exiting the Ambassador Bridge, remove truck traffic from local streets and provide for future traffic needs.
Last week in time for the fireworks in downtown Detroit, the SB M-10 ramp to EB I-94 and the NB M-10 ramp to WB I-94 were reopened. These ramps were closed as part of MDOT's strategy to maintain traffic while I-75 was under construction.
"We are celebrating a major project milestone by reopening I-75 for the community and for the more than 100,000 vehicles that travel this stretch of roadway daily," MDOT Region Engineer Tony Kratofil said at the event. "We are looking forward to the completion of this project, which is now more than 85 percent complete and will contribute to the long-term economic prosperity of this community, our region and the state."
Kratofil added that MDOT and its contractors have been consistently ahead of schedule during the project while maintaining the highest quality construction standards. "Opening early is a major achievement that benefits residents, businesses and commuters," Kratofil said. "A special thanks to our engineers and crews for their hard work and to everyone in the community for their patience. We want to assure the community that MDOT is working hard to bring all of the Gateway Project's goals to fruition as quickly as possible. This includes improving neighborhood safety by removing truck traffic from local streets."
While I-75 will be completely open to traffic in the late afternoon of July 2, motorists can still expect some intermittent closures within the project area during off-peak hours (9 p.m. - 5 a.m.) on weekends in July and early August, including local lane closures on Clark Street. These lane closures will be announced to the public in advance.
Work on the current phase of the Gateway Project will continue through the end of this year as work is completed on a number of key ramps and bridges. For up-to-date information on the Gateway Project, visit the project Web site at www.michigan.gov/gateway.
MDOT says: Working to improve our state roads and bridges.
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