DETROIT (WXYZ) — Detroit is taking another step toward building a highway cap over I-75, a project aimed at tearing down the barrier that separates downtown from the city's northern neighborhoods.
The area under study stretches from Third Avenue on the west to Brush Street on the east. Residents helped select a concept design last year, and engineers are now working to figure out how to make every piece work for Detroiters.
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James Fidler, an urban innovation strategist with the Downtown Detroit Partnership, described what the finished project could feel like.
"It's not going to feel like a highway anymore. It's going to feel like you're on top of a park," Fidler said.
The Downtown Detroit Partnership, the city of Detroit, and the Michigan Department of Transportation have been working on plans for putting highway caps over I-75 since 2024.
"I think people sometimes struggle with what a cap actually is, and really this is a way of being able to create a bridge over the highway where on top of that bridge we're going to be designing a new park and public space to help shield residents from all that noise that's coming off the highway," Fidler said.
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As plans are developed, organizers are inviting the community to be part of the long process.
"This is a community-led project and it's critical that the community support this, get excited about it, participate in the process," Fidler said.
Dozens of community members showed up to the fifth public meeting to discuss three locations for the caps between Third Avenue on the west and Brush Street on the east. Attendees gave feedback on the central, west and east caps. The East cap will be for neighborhood gathering, a Central cap for entertainment and a West cap near Cass Technical High school for Daily activities.
The team is exploring various design options including lane reductions, pedestrian crossings and bike lanes to enhance safety and connectivity.
Detroit resident Ramsey Beard said staying informed was important to him.
"When major changes are happening in the city, it's always good to have a foot in the door and kinda know whats going on instead of being surprised," Beard said
Detroit business owner David Tucker said he sees value in the project as a local resident and art gallery owner downtown.
"I think it's a good thing because those freeways kind of act as almost natural barriers from the city kind of like a river or creek system will work anywhere else," Tucker said.
Zein Hassan, who works in downtown Detroit, said the current environment around the highway is a problem.
"It's just not walker-friendly. It's too loud, it doesn't feel safe all the time and it would be nice to have some of the highways covered up and safe since Detroit feels like there's too many highways downtown," Hassan said.
Not everyone was satisfied with the proposed locations. Michael Cassin, who lives nearby, felt the caps should cover the entire freeway and include his residential community.
"The studies seem to be favoring commercial interest not the actual residents that they're neighbors with. I'm president of a couple associations in Brush Park and everyone has voiced a lot of concern over this project and the fact of health issues with the opening of the traffic with the exhaust coming out," Cassin said. “Buy once, cry once. It’s done right and it would be idealistic if we could get the entire freeway done but if you can’t, don't leave a big open hole right in the middle of Brush Park. All our residents, we have a thousand people that live there — it is the heart of downtown living right now."
The goal of the meetings is to share progress, gather community input both positive and negative and collect stories from past residents with a historic connection to the area.
Fiddler said the history of the neighborhood is central to the project's vision. I-75 was built through the downtown area in the 1950s and replaced active, thriving communities. The city, MDOT and DDP are now looking to bring that connectivity back.
"When I-75 was constructed, the neighborhood was split by the construction of the freeway. A lot of the businesses were displaced. A lot of the residents were displaced. And so we really want to kind of highlight the history of this place before the highway was constructed and be able to incorporate that into the design of the park spaces themselves," Fiddler said.
The project is halfway though the feasibility study with a focus on transportation design and environmental features.
Interactive park design and access and mobility workshops will continue as a part of phase two.
Once the design is finalized, securing funding is the next major step. If all goes well, construction could begin in 2028.
Input is encouraged and ideas can be viewed on DDP's website.
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