The City of Detroit has received a $2 million grant from President Joe Biden's administration to conduct an analysis for a potential lid over I-75 in Downtown Detroit.
The plan would cap a part of I-75 that bisects Downtown Detroit, just south of Little Caesars Arena between Woodward Ave. and Cass Ave.
You can see a conceptual rendering below, and a map where the lid is located in green over the highway.
The $2 million grant will allow the Downtown Detroit Partnership to conduct community engagement and mobility analysis on the plan. Funding comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Program, which aims to reconnect downtown to surrounding neighborhoods.
It's the latest plan for the Downtown Detroit highway system, along with a plan for major changes along I-375.
Watch the video below to see more about the I-375 improvement project
"This investment could knit downtown Detroit and Midtown back together, providing a pedestrian-oriented connector traversing I-75,” said Zachary Kolodin, chief infrastructure officer and director of the Michigan Infrastructure Office. “We appreciate President Biden and Michigan’s congressional delegation for their support for planning and engineering to make this project a reality.”
Constructing a lid would create a concrete shelf constructed directly over the road that would support parks, housing, office buildings and more.
“I want to congratulate the Downtown Detroit Partnership on their success in winning this vital federal grant,” said Michigan Department of Transportation Director Bradley C. Wieferich. “We are eager to support their efforts to explore this innovative idea to bring greater connectivity to District Detroit and the broader community.”
The project would also include the new University of Michigan Detroit Center for Innovation, which broke ground in late 2023.
Watch more from the groundbreaking and the plans for the center below
