(WXYZ) — The Michigan Department of Transportation and City of Detroit are hosting a community meeting on Thursday, Sept. 12 for the Michigan Ave. road project in Corktown.
According to MDOT, it will take place from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sept. 12 at the Gaelic League of Detroit. The presentation will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will be followed by a Q&A session.
In July, we covered the plans and reaction from the community on the plan for Michigan Ave. improvements in Corktown.
WATCH BELOW: Corktown business owners, residents fear MDOT'S plan to rebuild Michigan Ave. will ruin nostalgic vibe
Many fear the plan to rebuild a 1.6-mile section of Michigan Avenue will ruin Corktown's nostalgic vibe.
"I'd be kind of disappointed to lose the cobblestone brick over here," said Eric Curl who lives in Corktown.
MDOT Senior Project Manager Mohammed Alghurabi said, depending on the integrity of the old bricks, some could be reused in a small area on Michigan Avenue where drivers enter Corktown as well as in decorative sidewalk areas.
"The infrastructure is very, very old. It goes back to the 60s and 50s, and it's time to do a total reconstruction that includes drainage and everything involved with it," Alghurabi told 7 News Detroit.
VIDEO EXTRA: Take a ride on the brick pavers in Corktown
Bob Roberts, president of the Corktown Business Association, who owns McShane's Irish Pub on Michigan Avenue and Trumbull, is part of a "Save the Bricks" campaign to lessen the impact of MDOT's project on residents and businesses.
"We very much look forward to any type of information that they can give us that's going to convince me that it's not going to put people out of business," said Roberts, adding that Corktown's small business community is fragile right now after a rough recovery after COVID.
