DETROIT (WXYZ) — Months after the Michigan Department of Transportation closed the local lanes of I-96 at the Southfield Freeway for sinkhole repairs, the orange barrels are still in place — and west side Detroit residents want answers.
The closure began in February and was originally expected to wrap up in March. But the project has been delayed again and again, forcing drivers to take long detours through surrounding neighborhoods.
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Sandra Hughes, who lives on Detroit's west side, said the closure has upended her daily commute.
"If you don't get off at Evergreen, you're getting shot down the freeway past where you even live. Right on the Express Lanes to Grand River, then I take Grand River toward Schaefer home," Hughes said.
Hughes also said the site appears idle when she passes it.
"Every time I pass it, it looks like there is no activity," Hughes said.
But drone footage captured workers busy inside a deep pit at the construction site.
Adam Penzenstadler, a Taylor TIC manager with MDOT, said the work is happening far below the surface, which is why it is not visible to passing drivers.
"We had to dig a pit, and we are down working on it 50 feet below the freeway surface, so a lot of the workers you won't see them driving by," Penzenstadler said.
MDOT discovered two sinkholes in the two right lanes of the local I-96 at M-39 last fall. Penzenstadler said the road had dropped significantly over a large stretch.
"The local lanes of I-96 sunk down about 2 1/2 feet, over a 125-foot stretch of pavement," Penzenstadler said.
The cause is a leaking storm pipe — 7 feet in diameter and 50 feet below ground. MDOT closed the local lanes in February to make repairs, but after crews believed they had fixed the sinkholes and began reassembling the roadway, a new problem emerged.
"As we fixed that, we started putting everything back together, and we noticed that a little bit farther down a couple hundred feet from there, it started leaking again, and we started sinking," Penzenstadler said.
MDOT recently hired a contractor to fly a drone through 7 miles of the pipe to search for any additional leaks that could further delay repairs.
When asked about a reopening timeline, Penzenstadler said the department is hopeful but cannot make any guarantees.
"We are hoping to have everything open by the end of this year," Penzenstadler said. "We are hopeful, so we are in the middle of it. Until we get this repaired, I can't say for certain, but we are hopeful to have everything repaired — at least what we are working on now — by the end of the year."
Maria Bryant, another west side Detroit resident who reached out with concerns about the project, said the situation appears to be getting worse, not better.
"It looks like the work gets worse and more gets added, the longer they're working on fixing a sinkhole," Bryant said.
Bryant said she is eager to see the project completed.
"I prefer the local lanes and I would like to see them open as soon as possible," Bryant said.
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