(WXYZ) — Getting around metro Detroit will get a little tougher before it gets better.
The good news: Phase 2 of the I-75 Modernization Project is now complete, and MDOT expects to have lanes and exits open by the start of 2020.
Currently, both directions of I-75 are sharing the southbound side of the freeway, separated by a temporary concrete barrier. Reopening the northbound lanes is a process that starts today at 7 a.m.
If all you wanted for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Diwali - was less construction ... your holiday wish is about to come true!! Big news about I-75 from @MDOT_MetroDet - WARNING: it gets worse before it gets better but it gets A LOT better VERY SOON! 630 @wxyzdetroit pic.twitter.com/3bqz3PxQ6D
— Jennifer Ann Wilson WXYZ (@JennaWils) December 27, 2019
The not-so-good news: The process of reopening northbound I-75 will cause southbound to be reduced to one lane.
Crews need to remove roughly nine miles of temporary concrete barrier wall off the southbound lanes and re-stripe the freeway before fully opening travel lanes and ramps.
To safely complete this work, southbound I-75 will have one lane open until 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31. At that time, all exit and entrance ramps on both sides of the freeway will open to traffic.
By New Year's Eve, it is expected that northbound I-75 traffic will be using the new northbound pavement with three lanes open except for a one-mile stretch from Big Beaver to Wattles roads, where only two lanes will be open due to the ongoing construction of a noise wall through the winter months.
Northbound exit ramps are expected to open as work progresses.
