I-696 Location Alternatives - What Could Have Been

I got my hands on a 1963 Michigan State Highway Department publication titled, "A Planning and Engineering Analysis of the Location and Design Alternatives Considered; Interstate 696".

The book details the most serious alternative contenders, which included an "11 Mile Alignment" and a "10 Mile Alignment". What we ultimately got was a blend of both. This was done in order to avoid existing commerce areas.

I'm going to post some images from the book, some highlights of what could have been.

Let's start with the "11 Mile Alignment" and how I-696 could have intersected with I-75. The picture from the book below shows a residential neighborhood in Royal Oak and Madison Heights just north of 11 Mile centered on Stephenson Highway.

Note the left-hand exit and entrance within the interchange and how it's not a traditional four level stack level stack like we have today.

From the book: [[Full Resolution Click Here)
Attachment 24650

What exists today: [[Click here for map)
Attachment 24651


I also found it interesting that the book reference "DeQuindre" road many times. Does anyone know if it was actually spelled with a capital 'Q'? And if so, when did we change it to a lower-case 'q'?

If folks find this stuff interesting, I'll post more from the book.

Quindre :

http://www.mytrees.com/ancestry/Mich...1929-8551.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=mp4...chigan&f=false

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Originally Posted by Willi

Quindre :

http://www.mytrees.com/ancestry/Mich...1929-8551.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=mp4...chigan&f=false

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Thanks! A possible origin for the road. I just find it interesting that the spelling has changed in the last 50 years. I wonder if there was some kind of official switch-over to the new spelling, or was it just kind of organic and people start spelling it without a capital 'Q' because they always saw it as all caps on the street sign.

696 was only built after a huge protracted fight of several years duration over those very alignments. Different municipalities, different constituencies, and different commercial groups all had their reasons why it couldn't go down one or another Mile Rd. And then there was the wetlands, the zoo, the orthodox Jewish community, etc. I remember the rancorous debates in Oakland and Macomb County politics.

In the end it was kind of amazing it got built at all. 696 was, of course, the last major expressway project in this area. A few years later, after the public tide had turned decisively against freeway construction [[at least freeway construction anywhere near them), and it might never have been built at all.

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Originally Posted by EastsideAl

696 was only built after a huge protracted fight of several years duration over those very alignments. Different municipalities, different constituencies, and different commercial groups all had their reasons why it couldn't go down one or another Mile Rd. And then there was the wetlands, the zoo, the orthodox Jewish community, etc. I remember the rancorous debates in Oakland and Macomb County politics.

In the end it was kind of amazing it got built at all. 696 was, of course, the last major expressway project in this area. A few years later, after the public tide had turned decisively against freeway construction [[at least freeway construction anywhere near them), and it might never have been built at all.

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I thought 275 was built after 696?

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Originally Posted by iheartthed

I thought 275 was built after 696?

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I believe the last portion of 696 [[the part through Royal Oak and the like) was built well after 275.

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Originally Posted by Bham1982

I believe the last portion of 696 [[the part through Royal Oak and the like) was built well after 275.

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I remember the first time I rode on 696 was 1989. It seemed newly completed.

Boy, and where would we be without 696?

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Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

I remember the first time I rode on 696 was 1989. It seemed newly completed.

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This was because the portion of I-696 between I-75 and M-10 opened in December 1989, while I-275 was completed in 1977.

EDIT: 48307, when you have time, you can download JOSM [[a program intended to be an external Openstreetmap editor), download areas along the alignments proposed in the book from the OSM server onto the program, recreate what the book shows, not upload the results onto the OSM server and post screenshots.

Well that alignment would've been a disaster.

That isn't a true 11 mile alignment, its more like an 11 1/4 alignment. Interesting as that would've probably decimated many neighborhoods in Royal Oak.

Plus that interchange would've never worked with today's traffic volume. All those silly left-hand ramps and curves seemed good in theory, but would be terrible in reality.

I remember as a kid driving with my parents to their friends house in Warren... this was circa 1964... and I vividly remember that 2 lane 11 Mile road was devoid of houses anywhere near the street. It looked like there were wide weed filled fields on either side of 11 Mile Rd., with homes and subdivisions quite some distance from 11 Mile.

So the eastern end of I-696 was already cast in stone via home and business removal by the mid 1960s.

One of the alignments would have virtually wiped out the city of Pleasant Ridge.

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Originally Posted by DTWflyer

Interesting as that would've probably decimated many neighborhoods in Royal Oak.

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The actual interchange that was built, along with many parts of I-696 decimated many neighborhoods. The present day I-75\I-696 interchange was a completely built out neighborhood.

What Could Have Been - Downtown Berkley, Oak Park, Huntington Woods, Royal Oak, and Pleasant Ridge

The below map includes both the "10 Mile Alternative" and the "11 Mile Alternative" with several sub-alternatives.

Some things of note in this map:

- Two 11 Mile sub-alternatives go around 11 Mile between Greenfield and Coolidge.
- The 11 Mile Alternative has I-696 interchanging with Woodward at 11 1/4 Mile.
- There is a ruled-out 10 Mile sub-alternative [[the short-dash line) that would have cut away a good chunk of the zoo.
- The 11 Mile Alternative at 696 and Woodward included an interchange with ramps for NB to WB and WB to NB

10 Mile and 11 Mile Alternatives from Greenfield to Campbell: [[Click here for larger image)
Attachment 24659

I-696 11 Mile Alternative at Woodward: [[Click here for larger image)
Attachment 24660

Interesting thread, thanks for posting this.


My grandparents lived at the corner of Connecticut and University in Royal Oak for 74 years. That would be just to the left of this map. This alternate plan would have put their house in the middle of the freeway. Our family would have had a different life experience for sure. Crazy.

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Originally Posted by nain rouge

Boy, and where would we be without 696?

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Without a daily headache from 7am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm? 696 is the worst, especially for the amount of commuter traffic it dumps on I-75 during rush hour. I really detest 696, but understand that it has its purpose. It's funny because the most use that I get out of 696 is going from I-75 to Woodward. I used to take it to an ex's place in Warren, and it really was the worst.

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Originally Posted by motz

Without a daily headache from 7am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm? 696 is the worst, especially for the amount of commuter traffic it dumps on I-75 during rush hour. I really detest 696, but understand that it has its purpose. It's funny because the most use that I get out of 696 is going from I-75 to Woodward. I used to take it to an ex's place in Warren, and it really was the worst.

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It's not called the Autobahn of Detroit for nothing. You get off 75 onto 696 in any direction and it's basically being thrown into a NASCAR race.

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Originally Posted by motz

It's funny because the most use that I get out of 696 is going from I-75 to Woodward. I used to take it to an ex's place in Warren, and it really was the worst.

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I think it promoted a lot of job and residential sprawl in Oakland County. If you live in Warren, Roseville, Eastpointe, and etc., it's seemingly more likely than not you'll take 696 to another freeway to get to work, either in OC or up on 20-26 Mile. And the few good jobs in south Macomb County are usually filled by 696 commuters from Oakland County. It's basically encouraged south Macomb to be a jobless pit with cheap residential neighborhoods.

Oh I know it decimated neighborhoods, it wiped out the far southeast corner of Royal Oak, east of Campbell and south of Lincoln. At least running it along 10 mile instead of Farnum didn't put another gash through there.

696 between I-75 and Telegraph has some interesting commuting habits.

In the morning, there is a lot traffic coming west out of Macomb County headed onto NB I-75 to jobs I presume are in Troy. On the other head, eastbound is obviously heavy into Southfield.

In the afternoon, going straight across eastbound into Macomb County isn't too bad. Westbound out of Southfield is obviously bad.
However, eastbound I-696 into the I-75 interchange is stupidity at its finest, and a ton of traffic trying to get onto NB I-75, again people who I presume are leaving Southfield and heading up to Troy, Sterling Heights, etc.

This section of I-696 made it possible for people in Macomb County to get to jobs over in Southfield. I think it made Southfield more relevant for business, but that seems to have now waned.

Southern Macomb county has always been a blue collar / manufacturing economy, before and after I-696.

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Originally Posted by DTWflyer

Oh I know it decimated neighborhoods, it wiped out the far southeast corner of Royal Oak, east of Campbell and south of Lincoln. At least running it along 10 mile instead of Farnum didn't put another gash through there.

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I remember having to drive to work along Woodward between 8 & 12 Mile during the mid 80s when the final middle piece was being constructed. I remember huge swaths of neighborhoods being literally dug up and carried out to make room for the freeway never to return again. Parts of Pleasant Ridge that used to come right up along the west side of Woodward either disappeared or were moved far back from the freeway. Woodward was never the same again either. When the traffic was being rerouted onto what is now the N/S service drives, so to speak, of Woodward, I never visualized that these "temporary" lanes would turn into permanent ones. I always envisioned Woodward would stay above as an 8 lane boulevard/bridge with the freeway below similarly as it went over 8 Mile at that time.

That middle section construction seemed to take forever too. It was probably about 5 yrs in total. Having to drive it everyday was brutal.

I'd be interested in seeing the 10 Mile alignment proposal for the section from Mound to Van Dyke.

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Originally Posted by Mikeg

I'd be interested in seeing the 10 Mile alignment proposal for the section from Mound to Van Dyke.

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I plan on doing Macomb County on Friday and Monday. It takes me a little bit of time to do all the editing and such for each post while I'm "working".

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Originally Posted by dtowncitylover

It's not called the Autobahn of Detroit for nothing. You get off 75 onto 696 in any direction and it's basically being thrown into a NASCAR race.

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From what I see, a lot of the issues come from absolutely terrible driving habits. People who want to go from merging from I-696 to the far left lane RIGHT NOW and will cut off EVERYONE WHO OPPOSES THIS. It's the worst. I just avoid 696 now that I live in Detroit.

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Originally Posted by nain rouge

I think it promoted a lot of job and residential sprawl in Oakland County. If you live in Warren, Roseville, Eastpointe, and etc., it's seemingly more likely than not you'll take 696 to another freeway to get to work, either in OC or up on 20-26 Mile. And the few good jobs in south Macomb County are usually filled by 696 commuters from Oakland County. It's basically encouraged south Macomb to be a jobless pit with cheap residential neighborhoods.

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I definitely agree. I know a lot of people who have been able to live farther from their jobs because of 696. It's allowed friends to live in Hazel Park and commute to Southfield, or allowed them to live in Novi and work downtown. Without 696, I can't imagine things would be insanely different, but I think the sprawl wouldn't have been so heavily east-west without the connector that is 696.

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Originally Posted by motz

I definitely agree. I know a lot of people who have been able to live farther from their jobs because of 696. It's allowed friends to live in Hazel Park and commute to Southfield, or allowed them to live in Novi and work downtown. Without 696, I can't imagine things would be insanely different, but I think the sprawl wouldn't have been so heavily east-west without the connector that is 696.

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When you consider that transportation policies ARE development policies, it makes sense that a generation that felt it could thrive and prosper without a central city would want a lateral freeway traversing the suburbs and giving sprawl a boost to the west. We'll be paying the price for a while, I think, since it's done its job: disturbing the spoked-wheel pattern the city was built upon.

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Originally Posted by motz

From what I see, a lot of the issues come from absolutely terrible driving habits. People who want to go from merging from I-696 to the far left lane RIGHT NOW and will cut off EVERYONE WHO OPPOSES THIS. It's the worst. I just avoid 696 now that I live in Detroit.

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It's definitely not the road to take if you don't accelerate when you merge. I don't know who teaches people to try and merge into 70mph traffic doing 45 and then try to get in the fast lane but it's a circus. Of course, I94 is worse.

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Originally Posted by Gpwrangler

It's definitely not the road to take if you don't accelerate when you merge. I don't know who teaches people to try and merge into 70mph traffic doing 45 and then try to get in the fast lane but it's a circus. Of course, I94 is worse.

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The same people that teach them to come to a dead stop @ the bottom of the ramp and look both ways.

What Could Have Been - Macomb County, I-94, and the Mound Interchange


- The 1963 plans make no mention of a transition from the 10 Mile alignment to the 11 Mile alignment at Dequindre, which is what we have today
- In the 1963 plan, the Mound Road interchange was a cloverleaf at both the 11 Mile and 10 Mile alignment [[well, 10.5 Mile)
- The 10 Mile alignment was actually a 10.5 Mile alignment from Dequindre to Hoover, presumably to save downtown Center Line.
- The 11 Mile Alignment from Van Dyke to I-94 stays very true to 11 Mile, with the majority of ROW acquisition on the north side of 11 Mile
- The 10 Mile Alignment from Hoover to I-94 stays very true to 10 Mile, with the majority of ROW acquisition on the north side of 11 Mile

East-side Overview from Dequindre to Hoover
Attachment 24749

East-side Overview from Hoover to Kelly
Attachment 24750

I-94 Overview
Attachment 24751

I-94 10 Mile Alignment
Attachment 24752

Mound 10 Mile Alignment
Attachment 24753

Mound 11 Mile Alignment
Attachment 24754



If anyone has any questions or wants me to grab shots of a certain area, please let me know. I will only have the book for about another week and then I must return it.

Enjoy!

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Originally Posted by Bham1982

I believe the last portion of 696 [[the part through Royal Oak and the like) was built well after 275.

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Yep. 275 was complete when I moved to the area in 78. Wikipedia says the stretch from Telegraph near Monroe to Ford Road was the last part finished and opened in January, 77. 696 between the Lodge and 75 opened in December 89. Between 96 and the Lodge opened in 63-64, and 75 to 94 opened in January 79.

I remember the opening of the Lodge to 75 segment after all of the wrangling over the alignment, and the relief felt by state officials that the Interstate highways in MI had finally been completed [[less the extension of 275 to 75 near Davisburg).

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Originally Posted by 48307

What Could Have Been - Macomb County, I-94, and the Mound Interchange


- The 1963 plans make no mention of a transition from the 10 Mile alignment to the 11 Mile alignment at Dequindre, which is what we have today
- In the 1963 plan, the Mound Road interchange was a cloverleaf at both the 11 Mile and 10 Mile alignment [[well, 10.5 Mile)
- The 10 Mile alignment was actually a 10.5 Mile alignment from Dequindre to Hoover, presumably to save downtown Center Line.
- The 11 Mile Alignment from Van Dyke to I-94 stays very true to 11 Mile, with the majority of ROW acquisition on the north side of 11 Mile
- The 10 Mile Alignment from Hoover to I-94 stays very true to 10 Mile, with the majority of ROW acquisition on the north side of 11 Mile

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Thanks for these latest images!

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Originally Posted by Gpwrangler

It's definitely not the road to take if you don't accelerate when you merge. I don't know who teaches people to try and merge into 70mph traffic doing 45 and then try to get in the fast lane but it's a circus. Of course, I94 is worse.

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When I was taking drivers ed in NJ in 70, the teacher [[also the football coach) had us drive on a stretch of the local Interstate one day. His instructions were "Boys, I don't want you to burn rubber on the entrance ramp, but please get the car up to speed before you try to merge into traffic. GET ON THE DAMNED GAS!!" I've always taken that advice to heart :D. Really, as fast as Detroiters [[meaning residents of the area, not specifically residents of the city) drive on the freeways, a lot of them have terrible merging habits. I remember once seeing a K-car loaded down with 6 people merge onto the Jeffries doing about 40 and then move over a lane without accelerating at all, without the driver checking his mirrors, so damn near getting rear-ended twice. Although in fairness, it probably was contrary to the laws of physics for a Reliant/Aries with that kind of a load to get up to 60 by the end of the ramp.

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Originally Posted by Don K

When I was taking drivers ed in NJ in 70, the teacher [[also the football coach) had us drive on a stretch of the local Interstate one day. His instructions were "Boys, I don't want you to burn rubber on the entrance ramp, but please get the car up to speed before you try to merge into traffic. GET ON THE DAMNED GAS!!" I've always taken that advice to heart :D. Really, as fast as Detroiters [[meaning residents of the area, not specifically residents of the city) drive on the freeways, a lot of them have terrible merging habits. I remember once seeing a K-car loaded down with 6 people merge onto the Jeffries doing about 40 and then move over a lane without accelerating at all, without the driver checking his mirrors, so damn near getting rear-ended twice. Although in fairness, it probably was contrary to the laws of physics for a Reliant/Aries with that kind of a load to get up to 60 by the end of the ramp.

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I rented a Chevrolet Spark [[most underpowered car in the world) last month and entered I94 at Cadieux. Even in that car I was easily able to get up to traffic speed [[over 60 anyway) without problems. However I've seen people merge on at 26 mile road, and use up the whole half mile ramp and merge in at 40. I used to drive a truck and people would almost drive under it while merging.

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Originally Posted by Gpwrangler

I rented a Chevrolet Spark [[most underpowered car in the world) last month and entered I94 at Cadieux. Even in that car I was easily able to get up to traffic speed [[over 60 anyway) without problems. However I've seen people merge on at 26 mile road, and use up the whole half mile ramp and merge in at 40. I used to drive a truck and people would almost drive under it while merging.

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I hear ya. The worst is being stuck behind one of these morons on the ramp and having to merge behind them. SB Telegraph to SB Lodge [[a left entrance) is the worst out this way. Traffic on the Lodge has a good head of steam going from the light at Franklin, so merging at 40 isn't recommended. At least there is enough ramp before the ramp to 696 that you can blow by them on the left and merge at a reasonable speed. That is, unless they're going to 696 and figure there's no reason to waste gas by getting up to speed before the 696 ramp. I used to be pretty good at judging which cars would try to merge at the slowest speeds and hang back so I could run up behind them getting to normal merging speed. In the 80s, my choices were Tempo/Topaz, Aries/Reliant, AMC Pacer, and various old-folks cars such as 70s Lincolns and Cadillacs.

As the final leg between I-75 and the Lodge Freeway was being constructed, I thought my parents mentioned that one proposed alignment would go slightly north of 10 Mile and cross Woodward at Harrison and go just north of the Zoo, presumably along Huntington and Ludlow in Huntington Woods.

Some of these proposed alignments are interesting. It's interesting trying to imagine some of those interchanges and how they'd look today if these alternates were constructed.

696 really screwed up the front 9 at Rackham Golf Course. They changed it a lot putting in doglegs on a few holes. The back nine is the same but the front 9 isn't as much fun as it used to be.

To 48307: Could you possibly post a clearer picture of the portion of this plan that shows what happens in Center Line under Alignment 2? I can't seem to read street names here and I am very curious about what would have happened in my neighborhood. Thanks!

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Originally Posted by ekurpis

To 48307: Could you possibly post a clearer picture of the portion of this plan that shows what happens in Center Line under Alignment 2? I can't seem to read street names here and I am very curious about what would have happened in my neighborhood. Thanks!

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But of course. Here you go!

Center Line - "10 Mile Alternative" - Click here for Larger Picture
Attachment 24767

A friend of mine brought the below to my attention.

Just WOW, imagine:

- Grand River as a freeway
- Mound Road as a freeway down to I-94
- The Davison connecting I-96, M-10, I-75, Mound Road Freeway, and I-94 [[on the eastside), and Vernor Highway [[as a freeway)
- Vernor Highway as a redundant freeway to I-94

Image link: https://detroitography.files.wordpre...d-highways.jpg

https://detroitography.files.wordpre...d-highways.jpg

Weren't Grand River and Mound built [[more or less) with that in mind? Mound was divided/boulevard.

Grand River turns to freeway in Farmington, but it was wide enough in some places to carry that further inbound.

And if you'll note the route of the Jeffries, along Grand River to Schoolcraft, well, the map shows that. And the tie in to the Davison was built at both ends.

E. Vernor is partially divided too if I recall.

Grand River was the original I-96 route which is why I-96 is broken at I-275; it would have originally been a straight shot up to what is now the 275/96/696/M5 interchange.Also interesting to note that the map shows what would become I-75 veering onto Woodward at McNichols.

Look closely at that new map. It clearly shows a dip in the "Grand River Freeway" at Oakman, where the Sears, Roebuck & Co shopping area existed. Obviously they didn't want to destroy that complex. Then another dip at Greenfield, to avoid Monkey Wards and Federals.

Well, didn't matter, Grand River is all history now, anyway.

The large divided roadway on Mound Rd. was intended to have a streetcar car line up the middle, as was Northwestern/James Couzens Highway. The suburban divided roadway on Grand River, as well as the ones on Woodward, Gratiot, Michigan, Fort, and Stephenson Highway all actually had streetcar lines on them.

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Originally Posted by EastsideAl

The large divided roadway on Mound Rd. was intended to have a streetcar car line up the middle, as was Northwestern/James Couzens Highway. The suburban divided roadway on Grand River, as well as the ones on Woodward, Gratiot, Michigan, Fort, and Stephenson Highway all actually had streetcar lines on them.

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Originally, the streetcar/interurban lines ran up the side of the roads. When they widened the highways, the state made a median for the rails. Unfortunately, the state also made the interurbans pay the entire cost of relocating their rails from the side to then median strip. This was a major nail in the coffin of the already financially weak interurbans and hastened their demise.

The Ben Hur chariot races come to mind as well!

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Originally Posted by dtowncitylover

It's not called the Autobahn of Detroit for nothing. You get off 75 onto 696 in any direction and it's basically being thrown into a NASCAR race.

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There have been recent discussions between city officials and professional consultants on how to improve the Woodward/696 interchange. One suggestion eliminates the underground section of Woodward, making it all street level. And also building out storefronts on the street level where Main Street crosses over 696. Both suggestions make the area more user friendly and way more attractive. By today's standards, the current interchange design is a mess according to the consultants.

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Originally Posted by EastsideAl

The suburban divided roadway on Fort actually had streetcar lines on them.

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That was never the case, although Electric Street, two blocks east, did once have streetcar rails in it's median.