MDOT I-375 project would transform into a boulevard, but activists question project

DETROIT (FOX 2) - The Michigan Department of Transportation's I-375 project would turn the old freeway into a boulevard.

MDOT and City of Detroit officials held a community town hall near Eastern Market for public comments on the "Reconnecting Communities Project."

"This meeting is going to be pivotal," said Rob Morosi, MDOT. "This will be the community’s opportunity to weigh in on the framework plan. We want people there, we want to hear their vision."

MDOT plans include converting the existing freeway into a street-level boulevard with signalized intersections from Gratiot Avenue to Atwater Street. Also included - building a safe interchange at I-75, while developing more street-level connections from neighborhoods to Easter Market, Greektown and downtown.

"We’re really going to turn this meeting over to the city as part of the framework plan which will actually determine zoning and land use," Morosi said.

But some community activists like Olga Stella of the ReThink I-375 Community Coalition, have concerns about the project.

"The project started out as a boulevard replacement almost 20 years ago and it’s now turned into an interchange project," she said. "So it’s ripping out the I-75/I-375 interchange, and that’s very significant. That is more than just changing I-375 to a boulevard.

The coalition also has concerns about the vision for land use and incorporating the history of Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighborhoods that were removed for urban renewal and construction of the freeway.

"How do you properly and truly honor the Black Bottom legacy?" Stella said. "How do you really do right by the businesses that are going to be impacted by years of construction."

If you would like to weigh in on the project or learn more, go HERE.

To learn more about the ReThink I-375 Community Coalition, CLICK HERE.