ALLEN PARK, Mich. - The Michigan Department of Transportation will be investing $8.9 million to improve the busy I-94/M-39 (Southfield Freeway) interchange in Allen Park, which was originally built in the mid-1980s and carries approximately 20,000 vehicles a day.
The bridge work includes resurfacing the deck (bridge surface), railing patching, beam patching, bridge approach replacement, epoxy overlay and replacing bridge bearings under the southbound M-39 bridge over eastbound and westbound I-94.
In mid-September, the southbound M-39 (Southfield Freeway) ramps to eastbound and westbound I-94 will be closed and detoured until early December. Southbound M-39 traffic will be detoured via eastbound M-153 (Ford Road).
The detour for eastbound I-94 will be M-153 (Ford Road)/McGraw Avenue and southbound Weir Street to eastbound I-94.
The detour for westbound I-94 will be M-153 (Ford Road), southbound Wyoming Avenue, and westbound US-12 (Michigan Avenue) to westbound I-94.
These detours were selected due to a number of factors, including other construction happening on alternate roads, the distance of the detour route, driving through downtowns, etc., which would add more time to the detour route.
In spring 2026, the southbound M-39 (Southfield Freeway) ramp to eastbound I-94 will be closed again for most of the year, with traffic again detoured via M-153 (Ford Road) to I-94. The 2026 work will coincide with the four-year I-94 project from east of I-275 to US-12 (Michigan Avenue) at the Dearborn/Detroit border. The remaining 13 bridges in the I-94/M-39 interchange will be improved as part of the I-94 project.
Funding for this project is made possible by 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. The investment strategy is aimed at fixes that result in longer useful lives and improve the condition of the state's infrastructure.
Based on economic modeling, this $8.9 million investment is expected to directly and indirectly support 85 jobs.
