14-year project starts to widen I-75

(WJBK) - A 14-year project to improve and widen Interstate 75 in suburban Detroit is getting started.

Construction started Monday on the effort with a 2-year, $90.8 million project to reconstruct both directions of I-75 between Coolidge Highway and South Boulevard in Oakland County. The project includes reconstructing pavement, replacing bridges and modernizing the Square Lake Road interchange.

The Michigan Department of Transportation says lane closures are planned. A new traffic configuration is expected to last into early September, when additional work on the project is scheduled to begin. The first phase includes roadway in Bloomfield Township and Troy.

The right lane of southbound I-75 from the Square Lake interchange to Coolidge Highway will be closed as road crews prepare for a traffic shift. That traffic shift will happen in mid September. 

This first phase of the project will cover about three miles of the interstate and is set to be complete in November of 2017.

"It's going to be a pain. We acknowledge that; we understand that, but this work needs to be done. We have to improve safety. It's our responsibility to put out the safest freeway we can," says MDOT spokesperson Rob Morosi.

Drivers will also see some single-lane closures on northbound I-75 from Coolidge Highway to South Boulevard, and on the north and southbound I-75 ramps to westbound Square Lake Road.

The work is taking place in phases through 2030. Overall, the cost of the roughly 18-mile project is expected to top $1 billion. The roadway from 8 Mile all the way up to M-59 will be widened.

Project details are posted online at www.modernize75.com.