Should a 'lid' be built over I-75 in Detroit? Grants will fund a study of the feasibility.

"Nearly $4.3 million in federal grants and private money will fund a study of the feasibility of putting a lid, or cap, over a portion of Interstate 75 in downtown Detroit to connect and beautify the area — potentially with a park or other green space above the sunken trench of concrete."


One award, which was announced Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Transportation, is designated for the Downtown Detroit Partnership, whose application was backed by the state Department of Transportation. The I-75 "overbuild" planning project will conduct community engagement and analyze building a deck over the freeway to reconnect neighborhoods to the north, Midtown and Brush Park, with downtown.

The announcement is the latest boost for the concept, which comes amid a plan to raise nearby I-375 to street level and convert it to a six-lane boulevard. Detroit got a $1.9 million grant, backed by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, to study the capping idea under a spending bill signed last week by President Joe Biden.

And the developers of The District Detroit, Olympia Development of Michigan and The Related Cos., agreed to contribute a $400,000 match to the Downtown Detroit Partnership as part of tax incentives and a community benefits agreement that were approved roughly a year ago.

"The interesting thing about the cap is not only does it really connect the two sections of our downtown, but it also provides for some great public space on top of the cap," Downtown Detroit Partnership CEO Eric Larson said. "Think about what could be, depending on the size of the cap, a very significant public space or park that becomes a community asset. We'll be doing a lot of studies around that. We don't have any predetermined conclusions. And that's why this grant is so important." t is unknown how much the I-75 lid would cost. Talk of the cap sprung from talks about overhauling I-375 and picked up steam during the District Detroit community benefits process, Larson said, when questions were posed on how to restitch downtown and make it more attractive.

"There was an opportunity to not only think about I-375 but also how the overall transportation network in the downtown was coming together. There is a significant amount of investment over the next 10 years that's going to be required by MDOT and the city. When we make those investments, what do we do to make sure that they are not only smart but also long-term? And 75 came into focus," he said.

Asked how big the lid could be, Larson said it depends. It could range from 3 or 4 acres to "significantly larger" if it covered the entire east-west span downtown, he said, pointing to the 7.8-mile Big Dig project in Boston and the 5.2-acre Klyde Warren Park in Dallas.

The "deck park," which opened in 2012, was built over a recessed eight-lane freeway. The $110 million project had $56.7 million in government funding, with the rest coming from donations to a foundation.
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