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Process to reopen I-75 northbound lanes in Oakland County to begin today

Phase 2 of I-75 Modernization Project complete
I-75 construction project coming in August
Posted at 6:42 AM, Dec 27, 2019
and last updated 2019-12-27 17:18:57-05

(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.

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.