MDOT to close I-696 exit ramp at Couzens for 'green ooze' hazmat site cleanup

MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. - The Michigan Department of Transportation will be closing one of the ramps along I-696 for repairs as crews continue cleaning the environmental hazard left behind by a Madison Heights business.

Eastbound ramp closures at Couzens Avenue will close March 29 at 9 a.m. for the remaining stages of the hazmat cleanup near the I-696 service drive.

The freeway site became a symbol of environmental degradation after a discolored liquid dubbed 'green ooze' began leaking out of a concrete barrier onto the highway.

While closed, MDOT crews will remove the concrete barrier wall that separated the service drive from the location. 

Crews also plan to repair the I-696 service drive from John R. to Couzens Avenue, where they'll restore the slope on the embankment along the ramp. 

A toxic liquid was first spotted leaking onto the freeway in December 2019 after Electro-Plating Services - a business in Madison Heights with a troubled history of pollution - failed to secure haphazardly stored chemicals years ago.

Since then, the EPA has put millions of dollars into cleaning up the surrounding area. Recently, the agency announced the groundwater beneath the building no longer showed evidence of contamination and that it was handing control back to the state.

The ooze that motorists spied leaking out of the barrier contained high levels of a chemical called hexavalent chromium and trichloroethylene, both cancer-causing chemicals.

RELATED: Toxic ooze cleanup cost off I-696 in Madison Heights is going up into the millions

In total, the EPA removed more than 350,000 gallons of contaminated groundwater.

The owner of the building, Gary Sayers, was sentenced to a federal prison in January 2020 for the illegal storage of hazardous materials. He was released early due to COVID-19 protocols. He was ordered to pay $1.5 million in cleanup fees but has appealed the decision. 

The Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy expect the cleanup to be completed by late Spring. At that point, the Couzens Avenue ramp and the eastbound I-696 service drive will reopen.