$274M metro Detroit road work season to carve up Southfield Fwy., I-94/I-69 stretch

**begingri** · February-24-11, 02:12 AM

The state said today it will spend $274 million to fix and upgrade freeways and major highways across metro Detroit

this year,

The two largest southeast Michigan projects are the $80 million rebuilding of more than three miles of the Southfield Freeway and 24 of the expressway’s overpasses in Detroit and Southfield, and a $90 million upgrade of the I-94/I-69 freeway near the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron.

The Southfield Freeway project is under way, with bridge repairs on 8 Mile, but the biggest impact will be the shutdown of the expressway between I-96 and the Lodge Freeway from June to October. Traffic will be detoured to Telegraph Road.

The $90 million Port Huron project will widen more than two miles of the I-94/I-69 expressway between Lapeer Road and Pine Grove Avenue and revamp a bridge carrying traffic over the Black River.

Continued at: http://www.freep.com/article/2011022...3027/1001/news

**CLAUDE G** · February-24-11, 02:29 AM

Southfield freeway is the worst one of them all.

**Junkin4Life** · February-24-11, 05:52 AM

Originally Posted by CLAUDE G

Southfield freeway is the worst one of them all.

I concur with you 100%

**midtown313** · February-24-11, 10:56 AM

The lower part of Woodward is also very bad [[between W Grand Blvd and I75) I wonder if they are not repairing it because of the light rail?

**daddeeo** · February-25-11, 08:23 PM

I remember crossing the Southfield as a kid with my bike [[in the early 60's)
when they made it into a freeway. I was on my way to Stopel Park.

**Brian1979** · February-26-11, 04:57 PM

I hate the Southfield Freeway, I don't understand why everyone thinks they have to break at the top of every hill, I know the speed limit is 55 but most people in Detroit do at least 70 on the freeway's and breaking at every hill slows down the traffic. I hope they get rid of the stupid hills when they rebuild the Southfield, I can't remember when that is suppose to start. I-94 is in major need of repair between Ann Arbor and Port Huron. I know this is outside of Detroit but another construction project that needs to start is widening US 23 between Flint and Ann Arbor.

**Rocko** · February-26-11, 06:49 PM

Turn the Southfield back into a boulevard surface street and have light rail run down the center.

DetroitDad · February-26-11, 08:18 PM

I couldn't get across the thing today on Plymo or The Craft. It was like a swift river of fast moving metal, steel, and rubber... well actually, do to the snow storm and construction, it was more like a parking lot in a shallow canyon. Never the less, it was impassible in my old two door compact. Several miles down there was a small bridge left open. Being stopped on it for a moment, I could feel it shake in the wind. I can't believe they let the infrastructure of one of the greatest empires on the planet get that bad. What the Heck have we been spending all our money on for the past few decades?

**Brian1979** · February-26-11, 09:49 PM

What is the deal with the service drive all of the sudden ending halfway between Plymouth and Joy? I agree with turning the Southfield into a boulevard, I don't think it would effect too much traffic and by adding in the service drives it'd make the Southfield wider.

DetroitDad · February-26-11, 10:13 PM

Originally Posted by Brian1979

What is the deal with the service drive all of the sudden ending halfway between Plymouth and Joy? I agree with turning the Southfield into a boulevard, I don't think it would effect too much traffic and by adding in the service drives it'd make the Southfield wider.

I think it has something to do with the at grade railroad tracks in that location. I do not know the history of that rail line, but it has very few at grade crossings. Most roads either dead end at it, or go under it, in both city and suburbs, with only a few exceptions. Knowing someone who lives at the end of one of those dead end col-de-sacs, I can say it definitely feels like the road stops short, and at one time continued through. My GPS and Google Maps seem to clearly confirm this.

On another note, isn't that a safe day care, on that corner in question!? The inward slanting razor wire fences will surely keep your kids from wandering onto the freeways. electric poles, and railroad tracks.

Augustiner · February-26-11, 10:26 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitDad

I couldn't get across the thing today on Plymo or The Craft.

Whatever it is you're trying to do here, please don't.

DetroitDad · February-26-11, 10:30 PM

Originally Posted by Augustiner

Whatever it is you're trying to do here, please don't.

I figured this was just you trying to keep me in Augustiner. I'm on to you.

**Brian1979** · February-26-11, 10:32 PM

I came across the service drive dead ending at those tracks about a year ago I was traveling north on the service drive from Joy and wondered why the service drive all of the sudden dead ended. I never noticed that those tracks had very few at grade crossings, looking from the intersection of Ford Rd and Oakman and including Oakman it only has 10 crossings going all the way to the Jeffries and Evergreen, it looks like there are only 3 at grade crossings and 7 bridges. Looking at any of the streets that do dead end at those tracks it does look like they at one time went through.

As much as I've driven around Detroit I'm surprised I just now realized that.