Drivers in western Oakland County and Livingston County will be dealing with more major construction projects.
According to the Michigan Department of Transportation, work on the I-96 Flex Route will begin on Wednesday morning with lane closures and major ramp closures on I-96 between Kent Lake Rd. and I-275.
On Wednesday morning, westbound I-96 will have one lane open from Beck Rd. to Kent Lake Rd. for pavement markings to be placed before the weekend traffic shift, and ramps will be closed intermittently.
Then, at 6 a.m. on Saturday, March 18, eastbound I-96 from Kent Lake Rd. to Wixom R. will be reduced to two lanes through late summer.
From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on March 18, eastbound I-96 will have one lane open from Wixom Rd. to I-275 for pavement markings and traffic shift preparation. Once it's completed, eastbound traffic will be shifted to the other side of the freeway with both directions of traffic sharing the westbound side with two lanes open in each direction through late fall.
The eastbound traffic shift requires the closing of multiple ramps which will heavily affect local traffic wanting to enter I-96 through late summer:
- Wixom Road ramp to eastbound I-96 will be closed
- Beck Road ramp to eastbound I-96 will be closed
- Eastbound I-96 ramp to Beck Road will be closed
- Northbound and southbound Novi Road ramps to eastbound I-96 will be closed
- Westbound M-5 to westbound I-96 remains closed through late fall
The detour for the on-ramps is south to Grand River Avenue, then east on Grand River Avenue to northbound Novi Road, then north on Novi Road to 12 Mile Road, then east on 12 Mile Road to M-5, then south on M-5 to I-96/696.
There are other major construction projects going on in Oakland County, including along I-75 and I-696.
The Modernize 75 project continues along southbound I-75 between 13 Mile and I-696. Crews are repairing the southbound lanes, so both directions of traffic are on the northbound lanes which underwent construction last year.
Also, starting at 5 a.m. on March 20, both directions of Woodward will have changing lane closures between 8 Mile and I-696 for a road diet. MDOT expects 2-3 lanes to be open from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. and 1-2 lanes open between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. every day.
The "Restore the Reuther" project will rebuild I-696 from I-275 to Telegraph over the next couple of years.
According to the Michigan Department of Transportation, crews will rebuild eastbound I-696 from I-275 to Telegraph. It will include rebuilding the road from the base up, including storm sewer replacement work and rebuilding ramps at Orchard Lake, American Dr., Franklin Road and Telegraph.
Both directions of traffic will share the westbound side of the highway through the end of the year with two lanes open in each direction. In 2024, all traffic will be shifted to the newly-rebuilt eastbound side while they construction the westbound side.
There will also be ramp closures during the construction that will be closed through late fall.
- Eastbound I-696 ramp to American Drive
- Southbound
- Northbound Orchard Lake Road ramp to westbound I-696
Detours for the highway are:
- Northbound I-275 ramp and all M-5 ramps to eastbound I-696, use eastbound M-5 to eastbound M-102 (8 Mile Road) to northbound US-24 (Telegraph Road), then to eastbound I-696.
- Eastbound I-696 ramp to Orchard Lake Road, use northbound Novi Road to eastbound 12 Mile Road to southbound M-10, then to eastbound I-696.
- Orchard Lake ramps to eastbound I-696 will use northbound Orchard Lake Road to eastbound 12 Mile Road to southbound M-10, then to eastbound I-696.
- Southbound M-10 ramp and southbound Lahser Road ramp to eastbound I-696, use northbound Lahser Road ramp to eastbound I-696.
- Northbound US-24 (Telegraph Road) ramp to eastbound I-696 will use southbound M-10 to northbound Lahser Road, then to eastbound I-696.
- Eastbound I-696 ramp to American Drive will use southbound M-10 to southbound US-24 to westbound Franklin Road, then to American Drive.
- Northbound Orchard Lake ramp to westbound I-696 will use northbound Orchard Lake Road to westbound 12 Mile Road to southbound M-5, then to eastbound I-96.
