DETROIT (WXYZ) — MDOT is pausing the I-375 Reconnecting Communities project in order to reevaluate how to move forward.
Watch a report from Ali Hoxie in the video player below
The pause includes the postponement of all scheduled meetings, as well as delaying the start of construction.
"We have one opportunity to get this project right," said State Transportation Director Bradley C. Wieferich in a news release. "I-375 has been open for more than 60 years, and we expect the new I-375, whatever design it may be, to be in place much longer. Getting this right for the community and our stakeholders, while remaining good stewards of tax dollars, will remain our priority."
The pause comes amid rising costs and increasing public concerns. MDOT says it will allow them to reevaluate design alternatives and prepare additional public engagement.
However, MDOT stresses the need for the project to move forward in some form, saying several bridges in the project area have exceeded their service lives and need to be replaced soon to remain safe and open to the public.
The project was set to kick off in the fall and continue until 2029. It's not yet clear now when the project will begin and how long it will last.
Historically, the land where I-375 now sits was home to two thriving African American communities — Black Bottom and Paradise Valley. The construction of the freeway in the early 1960s forced residents to relocate, resulting in the loss of businesses, homes and cultural centers, creating division within the community.
Watch below: History lives on at Detroit's Black Bottom
The Rethink I-375 Community Coalition has released the following statement on the decision:
This project pause is a healthy acknowledgement by MDOT of what the Rethink I-375 Community Coalition has said since it was formed: that the I-375 Reconnecting Communities project is more than a boulevard project. While roads are part of the puzzle, this project needs to follow from a vision that respects the complexity of the land use, transportation, urban design, local business, and restorative justice issues at play in the I-375 corridor.
Going forward, residents, businesses, Black Bottom descendants, and other stakeholders should be engaged in a public-private partnership to develop a vision that the entire community can support, and a project whose results will be worth the inevitable disruption and cost of a massive infrastructure project in downtown Detroit.
The ReThink I-375 Community Coalition remains committed to advocating for improved infrastructure, including a near-term solution to the deteriorating bridges currently over I-375 and improving mobility and quality of life in the neighborhoods.
