LIVONIA, Mich. (WXYZ) — Westbound I-96 traffic will shift to newly rebuilt lanes Friday morning, marking a significant milestone in the ongoing construction project at the M-14 and I-96 interchange at I-275 in Livonia.
Starting at 5 a.m. Friday, westbound I-96 traffic from Levan Road to I-275 will be switched over to the rebuilt lanes. The Newburgh Road entrance ramp to westbound I-96 will also reopen at that time.
WATCH Megan's full report here:
Currently, both directions of I-96 are sharing the eastbound side of the freeway, with two lanes open in each direction.
Cindy Handford, who lives in Plymouth Township, described the traffic shifts and ramp closures at the interchange in one word.
"It's mayhem, it's mayhem," Handford said.
"It's like an optical illusion when you get on that. It definitely is," Handford said.
Drivers say traffic spilling into surrounding neighborhoods and onto Five Mile Road has been a nightmare throughout the project.
Charlene, who lives near the construction project, said the disruption has been ongoing.
"This project has been ongoing and it's been flipping and flopping back and forth. And it was like they fixed it and the roads were fine and they started construction back up again," Charlene said.
For Charlene, the project has had a direct impact on her daily life.
"Extra gas, extra time, extra money, it's costing the average driver three fold," Charlene said.
With milestones being met, Charlene said completion cannot come soon enough.
"Yes, you can get home quicker, you can get dinner started, you can basically add more time back into your day because it is very time consuming," Charlene said.
If all goes well, MDOT says the project is expected to be done by the end of this year.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
