Good news for drivers who use I-696 during the Restore the Reuther project.
The westbound I-696 ramps to northbound and southbound I-75 are expected to on Monday, Aug. 31, after being closed for the past six months.
A time hasn't been set for the reopening, but it will be some time during the day.
The nearly year-and-a-half closure of eastbound I-696 between M-10 and I-75 in Oakland County is nearing its end, with MDOT's project manager saying the lanes are on track to reopen before the end of the year.
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The closure has created congestion on mile roads and service drives, shut down major ramps, and stretched morning commutes for drivers across metro Detroit.
Brian Travis, MDOT's project manager for the I-696 construction project, said the work is well along.
"We are, I would say about 90 percent of the way paved out on the project," Travis said.
Traffic shift
The next major change will be a traffic shift. Once MDOT finishes repaving the westbound side, westbound traffic — currently running in the eastbound lanes — will move back to its original side of the highway.
"Come around early October, we hope to put the westbound traffic back on that westbound pavement," Travis said.
Once that shift happens, crews will finish paving remaining ramps on the eastbound side of I-696 and the median, setting the stage for the eastbound lanes to reopen.
More construction ahead
Even after the eastbound lanes reopen, more work is planned on I-696 during the next construction season, including bridge and pavement work between I-75 and Dequindre.
"From about mid-April next year, through the I'll say fall, we will be down to two lanes each direction through that stretch," Travis said.
