Michigan Notes

[Revive 755]

Semi-random question inspired by a post in the fictional highway section:  Is there a reason I-96 was not routed down M-10 to downtown Detroit over the current route?

[Flint1979]

Semi-random question inspired by a post in the fictional highway section:  Is there a reason I-96 was not routed down M-10 to downtown Detroit over the current route?

I-96 was never intended to be on the Lodge. It was suppose to closely parallel Grand River Avenue (formerly US-16). In the early 60's though freeway revolts were going on everywhere and several of Detroit's planned freeways were modified, scaled back, or cancelled. So instead of destroying communties and businesses close to Grand River they decided that the Jeffries Freeway would no longer utilize the Grand River Avenue corridor. Instead it was built along the planned I-275 and over Schoolcraft Road instead. Then it connects back to where the Grand River freeway would have ended up.

It took an arm and leg to get I-696 built too that wasn't completed until the late 80's.

[Flint1979]

I-475 northbound is still closed and will be until at least July. Southbound is open though.

I went to Starlite Coney Island for breakfast and rode on it for the first time the other day.

[wanderer2575]

I-475 northbound is still closed and will be until at least July. Southbound is open though.

I went to Starlite Coney Island for breakfast and rode on it for the first time the other day.

Apparently MDOT is trying a new pavement design on the northbound side and didn't want to (or couldn't) rush the project after bad-weather delays.

https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151-9620_11057-514840--,00.html

I hope MDOT keeps better notes and follow-up than it did with the experimental I-75 pavement in downtown Detroit ~25 years ago.  A couple decades later, it seems nobody at MDOT knew anything about that project.

[Flint1979]

I-475 northbound is still closed and will be until at least July. Southbound is open though.

I went to Starlite Coney Island for breakfast and rode on it for the first time the other day.

Apparently MDOT is trying a new pavement design on the northbound side and didn't want to (or couldn't) rush the project after bad-weather delays.

https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151-9620_11057-514840--,00.html

I hope MDOT keeps better notes and follow-up than it did with the experimental I-75 pavement in downtown Detroit ~25 years ago.  A couple decades later, it seems nobody at MDOT knew anything about that project.

I remember that project.

[23skidoo]

Semi-random question inspired by a post in the fictional highway section:  Is there a reason I-96 was not routed down M-10 to downtown Detroit over the current route?

I-96 was never intended to be on the Lodge. It was suppose to closely parallel Grand River Avenue (formerly US-16). In the early 60's though freeway revolts were going on everywhere and several of Detroit's planned freeways were modified, scaled back, or cancelled. So instead of destroying communties and businesses close to Grand River they decided that the Jeffries Freeway would no longer utilize the Grand River Avenue corridor. Instead it was built along the planned I-275 and over Schoolcraft Road instead. Then it connects back to where the Grand River freeway would have ended up.

It took an arm and leg to get I-696 built too that wasn't completed until the late 80's.

Also, M-10 isn't up to interstate highway standards. Especially the section between Wyoming and 8 Mile, which was built within the right of way of the old James Couzens Highway. It's very narrow in that stretch and has twists and turns (a relic of the original highway). I made a thread in the Fictional Highways forum a few years back that discussed what it would take to turn it into an interstate.

[Flint1979]

Semi-random question inspired by a post in the fictional highway section:  Is there a reason I-96 was not routed down M-10 to downtown Detroit over the current route?

I-96 was never intended to be on the Lodge. It was suppose to closely parallel Grand River Avenue (formerly US-16). In the early 60's though freeway revolts were going on everywhere and several of Detroit's planned freeways were modified, scaled back, or cancelled. So instead of destroying communties and businesses close to Grand River they decided that the Jeffries Freeway would no longer utilize the Grand River Avenue corridor. Instead it was built along the planned I-275 and over Schoolcraft Road instead. Then it connects back to where the Grand River freeway would have ended up.

It took an arm and leg to get I-696 built too that wasn't completed until the late 80's.

Also, M-10 isn't up to interstate highway standards. Especially the section between Wyoming and 8 Mile, which was built within the right of way of the old James Couzens Highway. It's very narrow in that stretch and has twists and turns (a relic of the original highway). I made a thread in the Fictional Highways forum a few years back that discussed what it would take to turn it into an interstate.

That's true as well. It would take a lot to make it into an interstate. Someone recently posted in the fictional highways forum about turning the Southfield Freeway into an interstate. Not much of a reason for it either.

[The Ghostbuster]

M-10 along the Lodge Freeway will never be an Interstate, nor should it be. I looked at 23skidoo's "Lodge (M-10) widening/straightening in Detroit." While it looks like a worthwhile proposal from a fictional standpoint, I'm sure if MDOT actually proposed it in the real world, the locals would go ballistic. I highly doubt that segment of M-10 will ever be modified, even if someone could make the case that it should be.

[codeGR]

MDOT is proposing installing cul-de-sacs where Empire Ave meets new US-31 in Berrien County instead of building a bridge over the new freeway.
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDOT/bulletins/2722b06

[Flint1979]

MDOT is proposing installing cul-de-sacs where Empire Ave meets new US-31 in Berrien County instead of building a bridge over the new freeway.
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDOT/bulletins/2722b06

What are the traffic volumes there?

[JREwing78]

MDOT is proposing installing cul-de-sacs where Empire Ave meets new US-31 in Berrien County instead of building a bridge over the new freeway.
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDOT/bulletins/2722b06

What are the traffic volumes there?

It can't be much - they don't even bother to post it here: http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/ntfa/  I would be surprised if it exceeded 200 vpd. There's only one home on the affected stretch of road. Getting a resurfacing of several roads in the immediate area in exchange for not having a bridge at Empire Ave seems like a reasonable tradeoff.

[Flint1979]

MDOT is proposing installing cul-de-sacs where Empire Ave meets new US-31 in Berrien County instead of building a bridge over the new freeway.
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDOT/bulletins/2722b06

What are the traffic volumes there?

It can't be much - they don't even bother to post it here: http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/ntfa/  I would be surprised if it exceeded 200 vpd. There's only one home on the affected stretch of road. Getting a resurfacing of several roads in the immediate area in exchange for not having a bridge at Empire Ave seems like a reasonable tradeoff.

Works for me. How is US-31 suppose to cross I-94? Into the south end of I-196 or swing back to I-94?

[ftballfan]

MDOT is proposing installing cul-de-sacs where Empire Ave meets new US-31 in Berrien County instead of building a bridge over the new freeway.
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDOT/bulletins/2722b06

What are the traffic volumes there?

It can't be much - they don't even bother to post it here: http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/ntfa/  I would be surprised if it exceeded 200 vpd. There's only one home on the affected stretch of road. Getting a resurfacing of several roads in the immediate area in exchange for not having a bridge at Empire Ave seems like a reasonable tradeoff.

Especially considering Napier is less than a mile south of Empire. If Britain is getting a bridge, it's only a half mile north of Empire

[Flint1979]

This is just another example but in my area around Saginaw there's I-675 that has an exit and overpass at Tittabawassee and a mile south an overpass at McCarty. In between is Schust which dead ends on both sides of I-675. Schust is pretty busy on the west side of 675 all the way to Mackinaw where it ends into Jonquil Drive. It works out pretty good and this is a busier area than we are encountering with US-31.

[wanderer2575]

Mackinac Bridge rolling out new format for MacPass

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdot/New_MacPass_stickers_Dec_675014_7.pdf

December 30, 2019 -- The MacPass toll card is being replaced with a windshield-mounted sticker for customer convenience, and for a limited time they are available for free.

The Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA) has been slowly replacing current MacPass cards with the new stickers for the past few months and is now encouraging others to make the switch as well.  Customers are encouraged to visit the MacPass website at https://macpass.mackinacbridge.org to sign up for an account and receive stickers in the mail.

"Unlike the old MacPass cards that required drivers to roll down their window and hold the card near the reader device, the new system will automatically scan the windshield sticker when drivers pull up to the toll booths," said MBA Executive Secretary Kim Nowack.  "Drivers still need to stop and wait for the gate to rise before proceeding, but the new process will speed transactions for frequent customers."

The stickers are part of a new tolling software system installed last fall.  Anyone can open a MacPass account, which allows for online deposits and transaction information.  MacPass stickers are currently free but will be $1 each after July 1, 2020.

Though the MacPass is not exclusively for commuter customers, MacPass holders with passenger vehicles can still qualify for the commuter discount toll if they make both a northbound and southbound trip within 36 hours.  The toll will be $4 for the first trip but customers will not be charged for the return trip if completed within 36 hours.

Current MacPass cards can still be used through the end of 2020.  MacPass is the only tolling transponder currently in use at the Mackinac Bridge; I-Pass, E-ZPass, SunPass, etc., though similar, are not accepted.

[Joe The Dragon]

Mackinac Bridge rolling out new format for MacPass

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdot/New_MacPass_stickers_Dec_675014_7.pdf

December 30, 2019 -- The MacPass toll card is being replaced with a windshield-mounted sticker for customer convenience, and for a limited time they are available for free.

The Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA) has been slowly replacing current MacPass cards with the new stickers for the past few months and is now encouraging others to make the switch as well.  Customers are encouraged to visit the MacPass website at https://macpass.mackinacbridge.org to sign up for an account and receive stickers in the mail.

"Unlike the old MacPass cards that required drivers to roll down their window and hold the card near the reader device, the new system will automatically scan the windshield sticker when drivers pull up to the toll booths," said MBA Executive Secretary Kim Nowack.  "Drivers still need to stop and wait for the gate to rise before proceeding, but the new process will speed transactions for frequent customers."

The stickers are part of a new tolling software system installed last fall.  Anyone can open a MacPass account, which allows for online deposits and transaction information.  MacPass stickers are currently free but will be $1 each after July 1, 2020.

Though the MacPass is not exclusively for commuter customers, MacPass holders with passenger vehicles can still qualify for the commuter discount toll if they make both a northbound and southbound trip within 36 hours.  The toll will be $4 for the first trip but customers will not be charged for the return trip if completed within 36 hours.

Current MacPass cards can still be used through the end of 2020.  MacPass is the only tolling transponder currently in use at the Mackinac Bridge; I-Pass, E-ZPass, SunPass, etc., though similar, are not accepted.

what about the law forcing interoperability?? Or are the new cards ready for interoperability

and the signs for any MacPass only lane need to say MacPass IS NOT E-ZPASS or I-PASS

[rawmustard]

what about the law forcing interoperability?? Or are the new cards ready for interoperability

and the signs for any MacPass only lane need to say MacPass IS NOT E-ZPASS or I-PASS

Apparently it isn't in force yet, as it has been cited by MDOT that the Mackinac Bridge Authority feels that it is too costly to integrate with other toll networks at the present time.

[codeGR]

what about the law forcing interoperability?? Or are the new cards ready for interoperability

and the signs for any MacPass only lane need to say MacPass IS NOT E-ZPASS or I-PASS

Can you refresh me as to what this law is? I am not familiar.

I am curious what kind of fees MBA would have to pay per transaction if they accepted those other passes. And how those fees would compare with credit card fees. I don't know much about the E-ZPass group.

[Revive 755]

what about the law forcing interoperability?? Or are the new cards ready for interoperability

and the signs for any MacPass only lane need to say MacPass IS NOT E-ZPASS or I-PASS

Apparently it isn't in force yet, as it has been cited by MDOT that the Mackinac Bridge Authority feels that it is too costly to integrate with other toll networks at the present time.

Pity FHWA can't withhold federal funds to Michigan until that system is interoperable.  IMO since the bridge is on an interstate, the transponder system needs to be interoperable.

[renegade]

what about the law forcing interoperability?? Or are the new cards ready for interoperability

and the signs for any MacPass only lane need to say MacPass IS NOT E-ZPASS or I-PASS

Apparently it isn't in force yet, as it has been cited by MDOT that the Mackinac Bridge Authority feels that it is too costly to integrate with other toll networks at the present time.

Pity FHWA can't withhold federal funds to Michigan until that system is interoperable.  IMO since the bridge is on an interstate, the transponder system needs to be interoperable.

We're already a donor state.  We can't really afford to give up any funds for something that only a relative few people will use.  We have no other toll roads that would require the interoperability that some here think we need.

[Flint1979]

All lanes of Northbound I-75 are closed north of exit 111. All drivers are forced to take I-475. Northbound I-475 is still closed between Carpenter and Clio Roads. Taking I-475 to Hill Road (exit 2), then going west to US-23 north and back into I-75 is one option, taking I-475 to I-69 west then back to I-75 is another option and the last option would be to get off at Carpenter Road, making a left, then a right on Clio Road and back to I-475 north then into I-75 is another option.

The reason is due to a large sinkhole on NB I-75 between I-475's southern terminus and the US-23 split near Bishop Airport.

Here are a couple photos

[JREwing78]

Meanwhile, in Eaton Rapids, a culvert that really should be a bridge:

[Flint1979]

I-75 has been reopened.

[wanderer2575]

By a 31-7 vote, the Michigan Senate approved a bill that would require the Michigan Department of Transportation to hire an outside consultant to study the feasibility of putting toll booths on Michigan highways.  The bill still has to go to the House and be signed by the governor.  Under the bill, the study would have to be done 18 months after the bill becomes law and, depending on the results, the governor would be tasked with creating a strategic plan for tolling interstate highways in Michigan.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2020/01/28/toll-roads-michigan-senate-road-repairs/4598057002/

[Rothman]

Dang.  If there was one state where I thought tolling highways would be recieved like a lead brick, it would have been Michigan.