SOUTH LYON, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Road Commission for Oakland County has started an $11 million construction project to overhaul Pontiac Trail/Lafayette Street in South Lyon, and for many drivers, the first week of construction has already brought major delays.
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With main roads closed, traffic is now pouring onto detour routes, causing long backups during the busiest parts of the day.
"It's very difficult getting to and from places, especially if, obviously, you have to go through downtown," South Lyon resident Alexis Susalla said.
Brent Bergeron, who works in South Lyon, described the frustration many drivers are feeling.
"It's driving people crazy. It's atrocious. It's taking them forever to get anywhere," Bergeron said.
Many drivers are complaining about rush hour gridlock and school pickup traffic.
"For the past week, it's been a learning curve for sure," South Lyon resident Chelsea Wieber said.
"Normally, you get right up to the light, you're able to turn, but I've had to wait in three rounds of the stop light just to get through," Wieber said about Griswold near 9 Mile.
Susalla said the backups have stretched well beyond what drivers are used to.
"I was on Griswold between like 9 and 8. People were saying it was like an hour, and it's supposed to be less than 10 minutes that they were waiting," Susalla said.
South Lyon resident Mary said the project is welcome, but the execution has been frustrating.
"It's like you know it needs to be done and you're happy it's finally getting done, but I do think they should've boarded off smaller spaces so we could get around. South Lyon, as it is, is not easy to get around," Mary said.
While many drivers are trying to avoid the detours, at least one new business says the extra traffic has actually helped them.
Tiny Weiners and Kones, which specializes in hot dogs and Michigan-based products, opened less than 2 weeks ago at 10630 N. Rushton. Co-owner Eric Kujala said the detour is bringing in customers who otherwise may never have driven past the shop.
"It's kept us busy, and I tell ya, we've never been so happy to see orange cones because the detour is helping us out a lot," Kujala said.
The Road Commission for Oakland County says both signals at Nine Mile and Ten Mile and Griswold are smart signals, automatically retiming themselves every cycle to best accommodate traffic. The commission hopes that once the newness of the closure wears off, traffic patterns will improve. Officials say they do see things calm down after the first week or so, once drivers get used to the situation.
Wieber said she is staying optimistic about the project's end result.
"It'll be worth it when it's all done," Wieber said.
Businesses are still open throughout road construction.
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