Michigan Notes

[Flint1979]

Future MI Governor Buttigieg...

That won't happen.

He's not even from Michigan, is he?  He should run for governor in his home state.

Mike

He's from Indiana he'd likely lose there since Indiana is more Republican but yeah it would seem like he'd more in line with the policies of his home state. Mike Duggan is a better candidate but he is going Independent, he's actually from here too (Detroit).

[NWI_Irish96]

Future MI Governor Buttigieg...

That won't happen.

He's not even from Michigan, is he?  He should run for governor in his home state.

Mike

He's from Indiana he'd likely lose there since Indiana is more Republican but yeah it would seem like he'd more in line with the policies of his home state. Mike Duggan is a better candidate but he is going Independent, he's actually from here too (Detroit).

Pete moved to Traverse City, MI, a few years back. His husband's family is there.

[mgk920]

Future MI Governor Buttigieg...

That won't happen.

He's not even from Michigan, is he?  He should run for governor in his home state.

Mike

Carpetbagging is a grand, well-established American tradition.

Check out Mitt Romney's political career sometime...

Maybe he should try to 'primary' Kathy Hocul, instead.

Mike

[GaryV]

Future MI Governor Buttigieg...

That won't happen.

He's not even from Michigan, is he?  He should run for governor in his home state.

Mike

A previous governor wasn't even from the United States.

[JREwing78]

Still waiting for someone to describe the magic formula that unleashes a torrent of perfectly smooth, indestructible pavement that's always snow and ice-free across the entire state of Michigan without any hike in taxes for anyone, ever again. Bonus points if you can detail all the people involved with lighting highway dollars on fire and somehow convict them of their crimes.

I'm constantly reading rants from people who *think* they have a clue about how highway funding works, yet when you press them to show proof of their ideas, they can't come up with the goods.

Nobody wants to pay more for roads. They always want to pawn it off on someone else. They much rather bitch and moan about the resulting moonscape than admit that, maybe, they're just not spending enough money to fix the damn roads.

[afguy]

MDOT is having a public comment session on proposed improvements to the I-75 corridor between Sqaure Lake Rd in Oakland County and U.S. 23 in Genessee County. Below I have listed the proposed improvements:

• I-75/M-59 interchange-(Exit 77) Reconfigure interchange
• I-75/M-24 (Lapeer Road) interchange (Exit 81)-Widen ramps
• I-75/Joslyn Road
• interchange (Exit 83)-Reconfigure interchange to DDI
• I-75/Baldwin Road interchange (Exit 84)-Reconfigure interchange to DDI
• I-75/Sashabaw Road interchange (Exit 89)-Reconfigure interchange to DDI
• I-75/M-15 (Ortonville Road) interchange (Exit 91)-Reconfigure interchange to DDI
• I-75/US-24 (Dixie Highway) interchange (Exit 93)-Reconfigure interchange to DDI/Northbound off ramp improvements
• I-75 at Dixie Highway/Saginaw Road (Exit 106)-Flip right ramps to left ramps
• I-75 and Holly Road (Exit 108)-DDI
• Southbound I-475 to Southbound I-75 (Exit 111)-Flip southbound left side on to right side
• US-23/Hill Road interchange (Exit 90) Roundabouts at ramp terminals
• US-23/Grand Blanc Road interchange (Exit 88) Roundabouts at ramp terminals
• US-23/North Road interchange Roundabouts at ramp terminals
• US-23/Silver Lake Road interchange Roundabouts at ramp terminals
• Northbound I-75 between Baldwin Road and Sashabaw Road-Widen from six lanes to eight

Here's a link to the study: https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/-/media/Project/Websites/MDOT/Projects-Studies/Studies/Additional-Studies/I-75-Corridor/I-75-corridor-plan.pdf?rev=00526afb0bfd4eb4acca3d9376e713e5&hash=9C0331EDFCE8F5E886173C1D2393C834

[JREwing78]

MDOT is having a public comment session on proposed improvements to the I-75 corridor between Sqaure Lake Rd in Oakland County and U.S. 23 in Genessee County. Below I have listed the proposed improvements:

The late 1950's/early 1960's design of I-75 in this area is really only obvious at the interchanges. Some of them got modifications later on, while others have had the distinction of bad-but-not-bad-enough-to-change.

The interchange at M-59 would be an easy fix if not for being badly short-spaced to the west and north. Mainly they just need a barrier-separated weave-merge area for the entering/exiting traffic on both highways. However, MDOT didn't build the newer I-75 interchange at University Dr wide enough to pull it off; they would either need to overpass Univeristy Dr (a terrible idea from a cost and safety standpoint) or add new spans to the existing University Dr overpass.

MDOT would be better off pulling the EBD M-59 -> NBD I-75 and WBD M-59 -> SBD I-75 ramps out of the cloverleaf and replacing them with flyover ramps. This at least gives MDOT enough distance for the other two clover ramps to come back up to highway speed before forcing a merge.

At Exit 92 (US-24/Dixie Hwy), MDOT can simply replicate what they did at I-94 and Telegraph Rd - punch a new mainline and overpass in-between the existing I-75 roadways, and convert the interchange to a diverging-diamond or SPUI.

At Exit 106 (Dixie Hwy), this interchange is a masterpiece of bad left-lane merging all around. There's sufficient traffic coming on and off here that we want to preserve this interchange's free-flow nature. I would do the following:

- Realign the SBD I-75 lanes to parallel the existing NBD I-75 lanes, including flying under, then over SBD Dixie Hwy. This allows room for right-hand ramps between SBD I-75 and SBD Dixie Hwy, and vice-versa (likely by braiding them).

- Realign the NBD lanes of Dixie Hwy to parallel the SBD Dixie Hwy lanes. Cul-de-sac the existing NBD Dixie Hwy lanes at each end for the existing homes/busineses. Construct a braided over/underpass for the NBD entrance and exit lanes.

- Leave sufficient median width at each end of Dixie Hwy for a J-turn for the handful of folks trying to navigate NBD->SBD and SBD->NBD.

[GaryV]

proposed improvements to the I-75 corridor between Sqaure Lake Rd in Oakland County and U.S. 23 in Genessee County

They couldn't have bothered to do that during all the reconstruction this past year? Naah, let's make more traffic delays. The public won't care.

[wanderer2575]

proposed improvements to the I-75 corridor between Sqaure Lake Rd in Oakland County and U.S. 23 in Genessee County

They couldn't have bothered to do that during all the reconstruction this past year? Naah, let's make more traffic delays. The public won't care.

It's a third-party recommendation, not a construction plan.  Other than maybe some roundabouts at ramp termini, none of this will happen anytime soon, if ever.

[Flint1979]

They need to continue to widen I-75 south of MM 125. It could use an extra lane in each direction between MM 115 and 125. Currently it's six lanes (three in each direction) between MM 115 and 125, eight lanes (four in each direction) from MM 125 to 150 and 155 to 164.

I've even seen people call the eight lane stretch between Flint and Saginaw overkill which it is not it's about perfectly aligned with the traffic volumes through there. Anytime I'm traveling between Flint and Saginaw on I-75 there is plenty of traffic. I usually take Genesee/Dixie/Saginaw though going to Flint.

Overkill might be saved I-75 between St. Ignace and Sault Ste. Marie.

[michiganguy123]

I've even seen people call the eight lane stretch between Flint and Saginaw overkill

It is overkill when US-23 is neglected near Ann-Arbor, stuck at 4 lanes with more traffic than i-75 at 8 lanes

[Flint1979]

I've even seen people call the eight lane stretch between Flint and Saginaw overkill

It is overkill when US-23 is neglected near Ann-Arbor, stuck at 4 lanes with more traffic than i-75 at 8 lanes

I don't think it's overkill at all especially when the SB traffic backs up going down to three lanes. The thing is these two areas are in different regions of MDOT.

[Terry Shea]

They need to continue to widen I-75 south of MM 125. It could use an extra lane in each direction between MM 115 and 125. Currently it's six lanes (three in each direction) between MM 115 and 125, eight lanes (four in each direction) from MM 125 to 150 and 155 to 164.

I've even seen people call the eight lane stretch between Flint and Saginaw overkill which it is not it's about perfectly aligned with the traffic volumes through there. Anytime I'm traveling between Flint and Saginaw on I-75 there is plenty of traffic. I usually take Genesee/Dixie/Saginaw though going to Flint.

Overkill might be saved I-75 between St. Ignace and Sault Ste. Marie.

Tell these people to drive south on this stretch on a Sunday afternoon/early evening.  They'll quickly change their minds.

[Flint1979]

They need to continue to widen I-75 south of MM 125. It could use an extra lane in each direction between MM 115 and 125. Currently it's six lanes (three in each direction) between MM 115 and 125, eight lanes (four in each direction) from MM 125 to 150 and 155 to 164.

I've even seen people call the eight lane stretch between Flint and Saginaw overkill which it is not it's about perfectly aligned with the traffic volumes through there. Anytime I'm traveling between Flint and Saginaw on I-75 there is plenty of traffic. I usually take Genesee/Dixie/Saginaw though going to Flint.

Overkill might be saved I-75 between St. Ignace and Sault Ste. Marie.

Tell these people to drive south on this stretch on a Sunday afternoon/early evening.  They'll quickly change their minds.

I love that the four lanes are there it sure helps and now that they finally finished the northern end of that stretch between Hess Road and I-675 it is real nice now.

[KelleyCook]

proposed improvements to the I-75 corridor between Sqaure Lake Rd in Oakland County and U.S. 23 in Genessee County

They couldn't have bothered to do that during all the reconstruction this past year? Naah, let's make more traffic delays. The public won't care.

Incredible, MDOT just spent 2+ years to completely remove and reconstruct the stretch from Dixie to Dixie. Somewhere up above I ranted about not repaving, but not redesigning either of the unsafe left hand entrances during the process.

And now that I-75 is done they suggest we fix them...