Royal Oak before I-696

[coloroflaw]

Someone who grew up in south Royal Oak in the 1970s recently told me that he remembers classmates being displaced by construction of the freeway. I had always thought that section officially opened in 1989. I have a few questions here: Does anyone know what years that section of 696 were built during? Did any streets officially disappear? It seems as though a decent sized portion of businesses / homes would have been destroyed to make way for the new freeway. I'm having a hard time imagining it, but I would think that the large [[old) white and blue building [[I believe it is Walker Wire co) near the railroad would have been the "original" Ten Mile. Anyone have any pictures?


Thanks

[dtowncitylover]

This section was indeed the one that opened in 1989, so construction probably started 2-3 years before then I imagine. I have attached a picture from Wayne State's DTE Aerial collection of the region. You'll notice Ridge Rd once ran through up to Woodward and connected with Lafayette. I had no idea. Also some homes west of the Totem Pole drive in on the corner of 10 Mile and Woodward. That's roughly where the thruway underneath the Zoo parking deck is now.

Also on the south side of 10 Mile there's the triangle with a building inside of it. Anyone remember what that was? Google Maps now calls it Triangle Park.

[dtowncitylover]

Update: looking into the Free Press archives on Newspapers.com, I can say that construction was happening as early as 1985.

[Lowell]

If we go way back to post ice age days it must have been an ancient shoreline. I remember that when they dug out what is now the Woodward underpass they excavated a mountain of sand.

Trying to recall businesses at that intersection without success.

[mikefmich]

When 696 was in it's earliest planning stages, they had bought out and razed homes along it's planned route followng 10 Mi Rd. east of Woodward, if memory serves. This dates back around 55 yrs. Lived in RO when I was little, I remember the vacant lots when we visited old friends after moving.

Then we had the ongoing court battles of said proposed route that delayed actual construction for decades.

[jackie5275]

In the early & mid 1980s, I used to commute daily on Woodward from Pontiac down to 8 Mile. The construction started in late 84-early 85. It seemed to take forever to finish. As Lowell said, there was a mountain of sand when then underpass was dug up. I remember the Woodward you could drive on are now the service drives. There was little in the way of barricades on either side of the pit, & the lanes were quite narrow. I always feared getting into an accident & falling into the pit.

[douglasm]

10 and Woodward? The Dipsy Doodle drive in, Hedges Wigwam [[later The Trading Post before it burned) and Amy Joy donuts were three of them. On the NE corner was a row of shops on Woodward [[Trainor's Lounge was one), and on the NW corner, a row of shops on 10 Mile to the corner that the Dipsy Doodle's back was up against.

[Scottathew]

Here's some good reading: http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...ould-Have-Been

[Hermod]

If we go way back to post ice age days it must have been an ancient shoreline. I remember that when they dug out what is now the Woodward underpass they excavated a mountain of sand.

Trying to recall businesses at that intersection without success.

More likely the sand was from the grinding at the "toe" of the glacier that left the Rochester area sitting on top of some high grade gravel.

[Det74]

There was a Shell gas station on that corner which may have been in the triangle park, but I'm not certain now.

This section was indeed the one that opened in 1989, so construction probably started 2-3 years before then I imagine. I have attached a picture from Wayne State's DTE Aerial collection of the region. You'll notice Ridge Rd once ran through up to Woodward and connected with Lafayette. I had no idea. Also some homes west of the Totem Pole drive in on the corner of 10 Mile and Woodward. That's roughly where the thruway underneath the Zoo parking deck is now.

Also on the south side of 10 Mile there's the triangle with a building inside of it. Anyone remember what that was? Google Maps now calls it Triangle Park.

[douglasm]

The Shell station was on the corner of Main and Woodward. with the back of the station butting the Hedges property.

[EastsideAl]

The planning for that freeway took forever. It started back in the late '50s and continued through the '60s. The freeway was originally supposed to be finished in the mid-'70s. Some property was condemned and cleared back during that time, but then a seemingly endless dispute arose, complete with a batch of lawsuits as mikefmich indicates above, and a huge argument between various municipalities in Oakland County, over the proposed alignment of the freeway. The uncertainty even held up the construction and opening of the last segment of I-75. I remember it being in the news for years and years with seemingly no progress.

The Macomb County segment from 94 to 75 opened in 1979, but by then it looked as if the mid-Oakland County segment may never be built [[indeed, many people in Oakland County were suggesting that the plan be scrapped). Finally though, all the disputes between communities were settled, contentious issues were resolved [[like the "sabbath decks" in Oak Park), the final alignment and design were settled, the necessary property had been acquired [[at a far greater cost than estimated back in the '60s), and construction finally began in the mid-80s.

[Det74]

When 696 was in it's earliest planning stages, they had bought out and razed homes along it's planned route followng 10 Mi Rd. east of Woodward, if memory serves. This dates back around 55 yrs. Lived in RO when I was little, I remember the vacant lots when we visited old friends after moving.

Then we had the ongoing court battles of said proposed route that delayed actual construction for decades.

I remember driving 10 Mile Road E from Woodward toward I-75 in the late 70s and it was a 2 lane road that had vacant lots all along it's north side.

[EastsideAl]

Here is a 1989 story from the New York Times on the occasion of the opening of the final part of 696 about the long struggle to build it:
http://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/15/us...-to-build.html

[Bham1982]

Here is a 1989 story from the New York Times on the occasion of the opening of the final part of 696 about the long struggle to build it:
http://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/15/us...-to-build.html

I think, on balance, the local NIMBYs were wrong, and 696 was a net positive for that part of the region. In 1989, when the highway opened, places like Pleasant Ridge, Huntington Woods, and Southern Royal Oak, were at least arguably in relative decline, bypassed by newer suburbs.

The highway gave these communities terrific access to everywhere else in the metro, when previously they were a bit isolated in terms of east-west access, and helped sustain the new restaurants in Royal Oak and Ferndale, which rely on easy metro-wide highway access. Residents in places like Berkley can basically take a job anywhere in the metro and have a pretty decent commute. And the vintage homes are somewhat more desirable now than then.

Oak Park has declined, somewhat, and the Orthodox Jewish community has largely left. Ferndale has pretty awful schools, but this was probably true prior to the highway. Hazel Park was kinda dumpy then and now. But overall that area seems to be in pretty good shape, compared to the region's other inner suburbs, esp. north of the highway.

[Det74]

sort of related https://www.flickr.com/photos/railph...n/photostream/

[JenniferL]

Update: looking into the Free Press archives on Newspapers.com, I can say that construction was happening as early as 1985.

I can remember riding my bike down Ten Mile Road between Campbell and Main in 1983-- I was in eighth grade then. They had already torn down the houses closest to where the freeway would eventually be built. But they hadn't cut down all the trees yet, so it had a woodsy feel to it.

[coloroflaw]

Det74 fantastic picture! How on earth! 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

[Hermod]

The original planned alignment would have completely obliterated the City of Pleasant Ridge. They fought like mad to get that changed.

[Scottathew]

If 696 followed 11 Mile, here is what the proposed Woodward interchange would have looked like:

[dtowncitylover]

If 696 followed 11 Mile, here is what the proposed Woodward interchange would have looked like:

DAMN! That would've destroyed a huge swath of neighborhoods. Note too, might be a typo, but Sherman is suddenly Washington.

[EastsideAl]

The original planned alignment would have completely obliterated the City of Pleasant Ridge. They fought like mad to get that changed.

Tiny Pleasant Ridge was to be essentially sacrificed in order to meet the wishes of larger nearby communities. Especially Royal Oak, that didn't want to lose land, residents, businesses, or tax base [[as they would have on the original 11 Mile Rd. alignment), and the City of Detroit, which did not want to lose land off of the zoo and the Rackham golf course [[on the 10 Mile Rd. alignment that was eventually built). There was also significant concern over possible impact on the health of the animals with a freeway located immediately adjacent to the zoo.

An uproar from Pleasant Ridgers, led by Rep., later Gov., Jim Blanchard, a Pleasant Ridge resident, made sure that that routing didn't happen.

[douglasm]

The BIG too-doo happened after I moved to Colorado [[1972) but I remember P.R. being tied in knots over the prospect of their losing the reletively new complex at 4 Ridge Road, commonly known to us Ferndale residents as the P.R. pool......

[Det74]

Thanks. This is probably close to that other picture too: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kbreenbo/39602180832/

[LeightonGeo]

If 696 followed 11 Mile, here is what the proposed Woodward interchange would have looked like:

This is really cool! There's no doubt routing it over 11 Mile Rd would've been more damaging to the area. Seems like the 10 Mile Rd route was cleaner. But this 696/Woodward interchange design is impressive. Where did you find this rendering? THX for sharing.