A huge construction project is shutting down I-75 southbound for two years and giving Michigan’s largest bridge a much needed makeover.
“If you get on that bridge and see it’s in pretty bad shape it needs to be replaced,” said driver Mike Crag.
Driving the Rouge River Bridge you’ll see potholes and patchwork. Some spots are so damaged, you can see light shine through.
“You can only patch them for so long and people need to realize, we either close it temporarily to repair or we have to close it because it’s not usable,” said Diane Cross, spokeswoman for MDOT.
So that’s what’s happening on Saturday: eight miles of I-75 southbound will close between Springwells and Northline.
“Southbound will start detouring at I-96, this is right where the I-75, M-10 interchange with 96 comes into play, not too far from the Ambassador Bridge,” Cross said.
The official detour adds 25 miles to your drive: I-96 westbound to I-275 southbound.
I-96 has local and express lanes and can handle the thousands of drivers better than I-94 -- which is also an option and a more direct detour. But, I-94 will be much more congested, especially during rush hour and will definitely be adding to airport traffic.
You can take I-94 westbound to Pelham which turns into Allen and connects to I-75 right where the closure ends.
“The whole bridge is not being knocked down, keep that in mind, we’re only removing the concrete on top,” Cross said. “The support beams that hold it up, those are still in very good shape, they get regular maintenance just like everything else.”
Telegraph is another alternate route, it’s also another spot where you’re sure to see more congestion. It’s the same with Fort Street, but remember delay times for traffic lights.
The Rouge River Bridge is not the only bridge being worked on as part of this project. The Goddard Road Bridge will be torn down and replaced with four smaller bridges.
Northbound traffic will still have several lanes open through the entire project, but the southbound lanes will close in two phases.
“The closure is about eight miles in 2017 because it goes from Springwells to Goddard and then it’s about 10 miles in 2018 because we don’t let you get on until Sibley,” Cross said.
If everything goes according to plan, two years and $200 million later, the entire project will be reopened by fall of 2018.
