Questions about an old Detroit photo

**wash_man** · February-22-10, 10:43 PM

A friend sent me some old pictures of Detroit. This one has me puzzled. The caption says "Construction of Edsel Ford Freeway at Woodward." What are the stairs for? Were there pedestrians at freeway level? I don't recall ever seeing any before.

Stosh · February-22-10, 10:47 PM

Busses on the freeway were planned.

**MikeM** · February-22-10, 10:47 PM

Bus stops along the freeway shoulder.

**EMG** · February-22-10, 10:49 PM

I never knew these existed along I-94, but I'm pretty sure I remember at least one if not more similar sets of stairs along the Davison, and I assume those were for bus stops as well. [[Or, if not that, as a ready means of escape in the event of a fire in a concrete canyon!)

**leland_palmer** · February-22-10, 11:00 PM

The explains the bump out, I always wondered why the exit was designed that way.

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=4...04128&t=h&z=19

**Zacha341** · February-22-10, 11:27 PM

What's a "bump out"?

Originally Posted by leland_palmer

The explains the bump out, I always wondered why the exit was designed that way.

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=4...04128&t=h&z=19

**Warrenite84** · February-23-10, 12:44 AM

A bump out is an extra lane of roadway for a short distance for a bus stop. [[Bus doesn't stop in the road to impede traffic).

**reddog289** · February-23-10, 02:06 AM

I read something about this on Detroit Transit History site. Belive too its mentioned in another thread.

**bc_n_dtown** · February-23-10, 04:04 AM

Yes, the responses from the others were correct. Those stairs were originally built to access expressway level bus stops planned for the Ford. However, a newspaper article which ran in a December 1955 edition of The Detroit News referred to the stairs as the "Stairway to Nowhere."

For more info on the stairs, and other strange Ford Freeway configurations, you can visit the following web-page at:
http://detroittransithistory.info/AroundDetroit/ExpwyBusStops.html

BTW-The info on the stairs can be found about 2/3's the way down the page.