Right now, drivers on I-96 West are split into an express lane and a local lane, so they can still access the Cedar Street exit.
"It's kind of rough to get by, but we need it I guess. The bridges were bad," said driver, Walter Cornell.
MDOT Crews are working on the Cedar Street, Aurelius Road, Sycamore Creek and J&L Railroad bridges one half at a time. That way they can make sure two lanes of traffic are always open in each direction.
"It's very critical with this kind of freeway and how busy it is," said MDOT Spokersperson, Kari Arend. "This split merge traffic configuration allows us to leave the two lanes open in each direction as it was currently."
And next week, crews will be moving from the west side to the east.
"Now we can do the other half of the bridge work," Arend explained. "It is a good tool to use, where we can keep those lanes open but still get the work done."
A tool drivers told Fox 47 News they appreciate, especially since many plan to hit the road this summer.
Driver, Roy Davis, said, "Well yeah if it was one lane it would be a big problem."
But, it hasn't been.
"It does move pretty good down through there. I haven't seen no backups lately," Cornell said. "If you drive halfway decent you can get through it."
A small headache, for a big project.
The repairs are expected to be complete by the end of August, early September and should keep the bridges in good condition for the next 10 - 15 years.
MDOT told Fox 47 News Aurelius Road should be back open towards the middle of June.
Crews are working on about 6 to 10 other projects in our area.
The I-94 bridge project will begin this Tuesday with work overnight.
Also in Jackson, West Avenue between North and Ganson Streets is still under construction. A detour has been posted.
All projects will stop this Friday at 3 p.m., until Tuesday at 5 a.m. for the Memorial Day Weekend.
