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Michigan Notes

Started by MDOTFanFB, October 26, 2012, 08:06:31 PM

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Flint1979

I-75 in Genesee County will have some construction delays after the Memorial Day weekend. Between Dort highway and the US 23 split.

Lane closures and traffic shifts will be in place throughout the project. Northbound I-75 will close entirely from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. on consecutive nights June 7 and 8 for joint repairs.

One week later, northbound I-75 will close to all traffic for three days to accommodate milling and resurfacing. Dates for that closure will be determined by progress on the joint repairs.

All northbound I-75 traffic will be directed off the I-475 exit in Grand Blanc Township and detoured north to I-69 and west to I-75 while the full closures are in effect.



Terry Shea

Avoid M-66 going through Sheridan this weekend, like the plague!  M-66 is closed for Memorial weekend going through town, due to something called Sheridan Springfest, which appears to be a street fair.  Traffic is detoured along narrow streets with vehicles parked every which way, hanging out into the roadways and so on.  It looked like about half the traffic was trying to get through town and half were looking for a place to park.  I can't believe the state would allow for a state highway to be closed on a busy holiday weekend for something like this, especially when there are no good alternatives to get through town and no warnings about the upcoming closure! 

Rothman

Quote from: Terry Shea on May 28, 2023, 03:53:44 AM
Avoid M-66 going through Sheridan this weekend, like the plague!  M-66 is closed for Memorial weekend going through town, due to something called Sheridan Springfest, which appears to be a street fair.  Traffic is detoured along narrow streets with vehicles parked every which way, hanging out into the roadways and so on.  It looked like about half the traffic was trying to get through town and half were looking for a place to park.  I can't believe the state would allow for a state highway to be closed on a busy holiday weekend for something like this, especially when there are no good alternatives to get through town and no warnings about the upcoming closure!
Are all shielded state routes owned by MI, or is it like NY, where municipalities have maintenance/operations responsibilities on some of them?
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

Flint1979

Quote from: Rothman on May 28, 2023, 10:13:25 AM
Quote from: Terry Shea on May 28, 2023, 03:53:44 AM
Avoid M-66 going through Sheridan this weekend, like the plague!  M-66 is closed for Memorial weekend going through town, due to something called Sheridan Springfest, which appears to be a street fair.  Traffic is detoured along narrow streets with vehicles parked every which way, hanging out into the roadways and so on.  It looked like about half the traffic was trying to get through town and half were looking for a place to park.  I can't believe the state would allow for a state highway to be closed on a busy holiday weekend for something like this, especially when there are no good alternatives to get through town and no warnings about the upcoming closure!
Are all shielded state routes owned by MI, or is it like NY, where municipalities have maintenance/operations responsibilities on some of them?
All state trunklines are maintained by MDOT.

GaryV

Quote from: Flint1979 on May 28, 2023, 12:09:02 PM
Quote from: Rothman on May 28, 2023, 10:13:25 AM
Quote from: Terry Shea on May 28, 2023, 03:53:44 AM
Avoid M-66 going through Sheridan this weekend, like the plague!  M-66 is closed for Memorial weekend going through town, due to something called Sheridan Springfest, which appears to be a street fair.  Traffic is detoured along narrow streets with vehicles parked every which way, hanging out into the roadways and so on.  It looked like about half the traffic was trying to get through town and half were looking for a place to park.  I can't believe the state would allow for a state highway to be closed on a busy holiday weekend for something like this, especially when there are no good alternatives to get through town and no warnings about the upcoming closure!
Are all shielded state routes owned by MI, or is it like NY, where municipalities have maintenance/operations responsibilities on some of them?
All state trunklines are maintained by MDOT.
Although they may contract out some items to counties, maybe cities. Such as snow removal.

Flint1979

Quote from: Terry Shea on May 28, 2023, 03:53:44 AM
Avoid M-66 going through Sheridan this weekend, like the plague!  M-66 is closed for Memorial weekend going through town, due to something called Sheridan Springfest, which appears to be a street fair.  Traffic is detoured along narrow streets with vehicles parked every which way, hanging out into the roadways and so on.  It looked like about half the traffic was trying to get through town and half were looking for a place to park.  I can't believe the state would allow for a state highway to be closed on a busy holiday weekend for something like this, especially when there are no good alternatives to get through town and no warnings about the upcoming closure!
Yeah they have a parade, carinval, fireworks and other stuff. I don't get why people are shooting off fireworks over Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day is supposed to be for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces not a celebration of anything. But as far as closing M-66 for the weekend that doesn't make much sense because for one thing M-66 is a major north-south highway in the state of Michigan, along with I-75, US-23, US-127, US-131, M-37, US-31 and so on and there is really no good way to bypass Sheridan which is a pretty small community in the first place and like you said they have you detouring along narrow streets with cars parked along both sides of the street. Not a very good detour. You have Sidney Road and M-57 for east-west travel but nothing for north-south except for M-66 in that area.

Terry Shea

Quote from: Flint1979 on May 28, 2023, 12:21:05 PM
Quote from: Terry Shea on May 28, 2023, 03:53:44 AM
Avoid M-66 going through Sheridan this weekend, like the plague!  M-66 is closed for Memorial weekend going through town, due to something called Sheridan Springfest, which appears to be a street fair.  Traffic is detoured along narrow streets with vehicles parked every which way, hanging out into the roadways and so on.  It looked like about half the traffic was trying to get through town and half were looking for a place to park.  I can't believe the state would allow for a state highway to be closed on a busy holiday weekend for something like this, especially when there are no good alternatives to get through town and no warnings about the upcoming closure!
Yeah they have a parade, carinval, fireworks and other stuff. I don't get why people are shooting off fireworks over Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day is supposed to be for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces not a celebration of anything. But as far as closing M-66 for the weekend that doesn't make much sense because for one thing M-66 is a major north-south highway in the state of Michigan, along with I-75, US-23, US-127, US-131, M-37, US-31 and so on and there is really no good way to bypass Sheridan which is a pretty small community in the first place and like you said they have you detouring along narrow streets with cars parked along both sides of the street. Not a very good detour. You have Sidney Road and M-57 for east-west travel but nothing for north-south except for M-66 in that area.
It's ironic too.  I was traveling to Mt. Pleasant and wanted to avoid US-127 because it gets backed up every holiday weekend.

Flint1979

Quote from: Terry Shea on May 29, 2023, 02:25:53 AM
Quote from: Flint1979 on May 28, 2023, 12:21:05 PM
Quote from: Terry Shea on May 28, 2023, 03:53:44 AM
Avoid M-66 going through Sheridan this weekend, like the plague!  M-66 is closed for Memorial weekend going through town, due to something called Sheridan Springfest, which appears to be a street fair.  Traffic is detoured along narrow streets with vehicles parked every which way, hanging out into the roadways and so on.  It looked like about half the traffic was trying to get through town and half were looking for a place to park.  I can't believe the state would allow for a state highway to be closed on a busy holiday weekend for something like this, especially when there are no good alternatives to get through town and no warnings about the upcoming closure!
Yeah they have a parade, carinval, fireworks and other stuff. I don't get why people are shooting off fireworks over Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day is supposed to be for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces not a celebration of anything. But as far as closing M-66 for the weekend that doesn't make much sense because for one thing M-66 is a major north-south highway in the state of Michigan, along with I-75, US-23, US-127, US-131, M-37, US-31 and so on and there is really no good way to bypass Sheridan which is a pretty small community in the first place and like you said they have you detouring along narrow streets with cars parked along both sides of the street. Not a very good detour. You have Sidney Road and M-57 for east-west travel but nothing for north-south except for M-66 in that area.
It's ironic too.  I was traveling to Mt. Pleasant and wanted to avoid US-127 because it gets backed up every holiday weekend.
I got on I-75 southbound in the Saginaw area last night for a minute just between the M-81 and southern I-675 exits and the traffic was heavy but moving at the speed limit. I was thinking this will be a mess tomorrow. Thankfully they have completed the widening and repaving between MM 148 and 150. As I was getting on 75 last night a car behind me was trying to overtake me I was like wtf are you doing? So I just punched it and merged onto the highway, this car was still trying to get past me as the on ramp was ending. Oh well, everyone is Up North right now and southbound will be a haul today.

wanderer2575

Quote from: Flint1979 on May 28, 2023, 12:21:05 PM
Quote from: Terry Shea on May 28, 2023, 03:53:44 AM
Avoid M-66 going through Sheridan this weekend, like the plague!  M-66 is closed for Memorial weekend going through town, due to something called Sheridan Springfest, which appears to be a street fair.  Traffic is detoured along narrow streets with vehicles parked every which way, hanging out into the roadways and so on.  It looked like about half the traffic was trying to get through town and half were looking for a place to park.  I can't believe the state would allow for a state highway to be closed on a busy holiday weekend for something like this, especially when there are no good alternatives to get through town and no warnings about the upcoming closure!
Yeah they have a parade, carinval, fireworks and other stuff. I don't get why people are shooting off fireworks over Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day is supposed to be for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces not a celebration of anything. But as far as closing M-66 for the weekend that doesn't make much sense because for one thing M-66 is a major north-south highway in the state of Michigan, along with I-75, US-23, US-127, US-131, M-37, US-31 and so on and there is really no good way to bypass Sheridan which is a pretty small community in the first place and like you said they have you detouring along narrow streets with cars parked along both sides of the street. Not a very good detour. You have Sidney Road and M-57 for east-west travel but nothing for north-south except for M-66 in that area.

Brown Road is a mile to the west.  Not ideal, but not any worse than any rural route detour for roadwork.  If MDOT was properly notified to obtain consent, the closure would have been shown in advance on the mi.gov/drive traffic map and I'd also hope MDOT required a signed detour.  Was the posted detour really routed through neighborhood streets?

Near me, Grand River Avenue in Farmington (Old BL I-96) is closed three times a year for events.  The closures always show on the traffic map and detours are signed.

triplemultiplex

Quote from: Flint1979 on May 28, 2023, 12:21:05 PM
I don't get why people are shooting off fireworks over Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day is supposed to be for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces not a celebration of anything.

Give Americans a day off and a 30-rack of cheap beer and that tends to happen, even if it's not the traditional way to observe a holiday.
"That's just like... your opinion, man."

Terry Shea

Quote from: wanderer2575 on May 30, 2023, 03:07:59 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on May 28, 2023, 12:21:05 PM
Quote from: Terry Shea on May 28, 2023, 03:53:44 AM
Avoid M-66 going through Sheridan this weekend, like the plague!  M-66 is closed for Memorial weekend going through town, due to something called Sheridan Springfest, which appears to be a street fair.  Traffic is detoured along narrow streets with vehicles parked every which way, hanging out into the roadways and so on.  It looked like about half the traffic was trying to get through town and half were looking for a place to park.  I can't believe the state would allow for a state highway to be closed on a busy holiday weekend for something like this, especially when there are no good alternatives to get through town and no warnings about the upcoming closure!
Yeah they have a parade, carinval, fireworks and other stuff. I don't get why people are shooting off fireworks over Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day is supposed to be for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces not a celebration of anything. But as far as closing M-66 for the weekend that doesn't make much sense because for one thing M-66 is a major north-south highway in the state of Michigan, along with I-75, US-23, US-127, US-131, M-37, US-31 and so on and there is really no good way to bypass Sheridan which is a pretty small community in the first place and like you said they have you detouring along narrow streets with cars parked along both sides of the street. Not a very good detour. You have Sidney Road and M-57 for east-west travel but nothing for north-south except for M-66 in that area.

Brown Road is a mile to the west.  Not ideal, but not any worse than any rural route detour for roadwork.  If MDOT was properly notified to obtain consent, the closure would have been shown in advance on the mi.gov/drive traffic map and I'd also hope MDOT required a signed detour.  Was the posted detour really routed through neighborhood streets?

Near me, Grand River Avenue in Farmington (Old BL I-96) is closed three times a year for events.  The closures always show on the traffic map and detours are signed.

Streets?  Neighborhood alleys would probably be a more fitting description. :)  Traffic was detoured to the east of M-66, still within sight of the rides and stuff on the highway, in places anyway. They were narrow, residential streets with short driveways, and it appeared that people may have been parking in private driveways w/o permission, but that's speculation on my part.  But many driveways were full with vehicles hanging out into the narrow roadways.

I've never used the mi.gov/drive traffic map before.  I've never had a reason to.  The detour was signed, but I'm not sure if it was signed by MDOT or locally.  I didn't really pay much attention to that.  But I didn't see any signage warning of the upcoming closure and detour until I got there.   

Flint1979

For a little more than a half mile, looking at Google Maps and not remembering off the top of my head I believe it was Sherman Street that was used as the detour.

Terry Shea

#1462
Quote from: Flint1979 on June 01, 2023, 08:20:55 AM
For a little more than a half mile, looking at Google Maps and not remembering off the top of my head I believe it was Sherman Street that was used as the detour.
That looks right.  I believe the detour was Condensery Rd to Sherman St to St. Clair St.  The other weird thing is, the Marathon station at the corner of M-66 and St. Clair St. was open and accessible.  I'm not sure if the Shell station a block and a half south of it was open or not, but it sure wasn't accessible, at least not to through town traffic.  So on a busy holiday weekend, the Marathon station got all the through town business while the Shell station got zippo.  That hardly sounds fair.  I wonder if a local politician owns the Marathon station.  ;)


Flint1979



Quote from: Terry Shea on June 01, 2023, 06:12:03 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on June 01, 2023, 08:20:55 AM
For a little more than a half mile, looking at Google Maps and not remembering off the top of my head I believe it was Sherman Street that was used as the detour.
That looks right.  I believe the detour was Condensery Rd to Sherman St to St. Clair St.  The other weird thing is, the Marathon station at the corner of M-66 and St. Clair St. was open and accessible.  I'm not sure if the Shell station a block and a half south of it was open or not, but it sure wasn't accessible, at least not to through town traffic.  So on a busy holiday weekend, the Marathon station got all the through town business while the Shell station got zippo.  That hardly sounds fair.  I wonder if a local politician owns the Marathon station.  ;)

Yeah I'm pretty sure that's what the detour was. I'm not sure if the Shell station was open or not, I avoided the area.

The Ghostbuster

A 10-year-old child stealing a car and taking it for a joyride? Where the hell were the child's parents? They should probably also face some charges for their negligence.

Flint1979

Quote from: The Ghostbuster on June 04, 2023, 12:40:21 PM
A 10-year-old child stealing a car and taking it for a joyride? Where the hell were the child's parents? They should probably also face some charges for their negligence.
I know it. When I heard that I was like you've got to be kidding. The area where the car was stolen from is a crime ridden area and I'm willing to bet that the kids parents are nowhere to be found or they influence this behavior.

wanderer2575

MDOT will be letting a contract (#2307-002 on July 7th) to continue road rehabilitation and elimination of direct left turns and perpendicular crossings on US-127.  This project will be between M-57 and the freeway terminus south of Ithaca.



afguy

MDOT will be hosting a public house for the I-194 PEL study. From what I've seen from the long-term transportation plan for Battle Creek, the goal is either to do a full reconstruction or downgrade it to a boulevard similar to the I-375 plan in Detroit.

QuoteThe PEL study will focus on the I-194 corridor from the north side of the I-94/I-194 interchange to Fountain Street in Battle Creek. I-194 plays a significant role in Calhoun County by providing regional connections to I-94 and downtown Battle Creek. The PEL study is a collaborative process that considers environmental, community, and economic goals in transportation planning.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/news-outreach/pressreleases/2023/06/07/mdot-public-open-house-for-i-194-pel-study-in-calhoun-county

The Ghostbuster

Another downgrade to a boulevard? If I lived in Battle Creek, I would strongly oppose it.

triplemultiplex

Unlike 375, I-194 doesn't really divide anything until the very end.  And there, one is probably going to want to keep the grade separation with the railroad, so at the point, might as well retain the interchange with Dickman Rd. (heh, heh...)

Total sidetrack, but looking at some aerials in Battle Creek; Dickman Road (Bus I-94)'s crossing of the Kalamzoo River is absolutely hideous.  What is that, like 8 culvert pipes?  They should totally remove that low-rise, useless damn, put in an actual bridge, clap the two carriageways of Dickman Rd together closer, and fix them up a nice park along the restored channel in what is currently just a shallow, useless impoundment.
Can't do much about that channelized portion the rest of the way downstream to the confluence with Battle Creek, but it wouldn't hurt to try. 
As gorgeous as their waterfront on the creek looks, that's how ugly the Kalamazoo River is on the other side of downtown.  Some seriously good opportunities to do better with that reach of the river and probably spur a bunch of development alongside it as a result.
"That's just like... your opinion, man."

Terry Shea

Quote from: triplemultiplex on June 08, 2023, 02:51:18 PM
Unlike 375, I-194 doesn't really divide anything until the very end.  And there, one is probably going to want to keep the grade separation with the railroad, so at the point, might as well retain the interchange with Dickman Rd. (heh, heh...)

Total sidetrack, but looking at some aerials in Battle Creek; Dickman Road (Bus I-94)'s crossing of the Kalamzoo River is absolutely hideous.  What is that, like 8 culvert pipes?  They should totally remove that low-rise, useless damn, put in an actual bridge, clap the two carriageways of Dickman Rd together closer, and fix them up a nice park along the restored channel in what is currently just a shallow, useless impoundment.
Can't do much about that channelized portion the rest of the way downstream to the confluence with Battle Creek, but it wouldn't hurt to try. 
As gorgeous as their waterfront on the creek looks, that's how ugly the Kalamazoo River is on the other side of downtown.  Some seriously good opportunities to do better with that reach of the river and probably spur a bunch of development alongside it as a result.
How does I-375 divide anything?  It may have at one time, but I don't see any residences on the west side of I-375.

Flint1979

If anything I-75 divides more than I-375 does. Capping I-75 would be wonderful it would connect downtown and midtown. I-375 has Lafayette Park east of it and downtown west of it. It'll be nice when I-375 is removed though but capping I-75 should be done as well. I would love to see I-75 in Detroit like I-5 is going through Seattle.

Terry Shea

Quote from: Flint1979 on June 08, 2023, 09:45:38 PM
If anything I-75 divides more than I-375 does. Capping I-75 would be wonderful it would connect downtown and midtown. I-375 has Lafayette Park east of it and downtown west of it. It'll be nice when I-375 is removed though but capping I-75 should be done as well. I would love to see I-75 in Detroit like I-5 is going through Seattle.
I'm sorry, but I don't see anything good about removing I-375 and replacing it with a boulevard.  Presently it provides easy, free flowing access to Comerica Park, Ford Field, Greektown Casino, The Renaissance Center, the tunnel to Canada, the waterfront, etc.  I see no reason for a 6-lane surface street which will just cause more congestion.  If they're going to tear it down, just turn it into a massive parking lot for $10/day or something.

Flint1979

Quote from: Terry Shea on June 08, 2023, 11:39:40 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on June 08, 2023, 09:45:38 PM
If anything I-75 divides more than I-375 does. Capping I-75 would be wonderful it would connect downtown and midtown. I-375 has Lafayette Park east of it and downtown west of it. It'll be nice when I-375 is removed though but capping I-75 should be done as well. I would love to see I-75 in Detroit like I-5 is going through Seattle.
I'm sorry, but I don't see anything good about removing I-375 and replacing it with a boulevard.  Presently it provides easy, free flowing access to Comerica Park, Ford Field, Greektown Casino, The Renaissance Center, the tunnel to Canada, the waterfront, etc.  I see no reason for a 6-lane surface street which will just cause more congestion.  If they're going to tear it down, just turn it into a massive parking lot for $10/day or something.
Comerica Park and Ford Field are at the northern end of the freeway. Making I-375 into a boulevard gives Detroit a chance to build up the area and connect downtown to Lafayette Park. There are only about 14,000 VPD that use the southern end of I-375 and about 53,000 VPD that use the northern end, I don't think making this into a boulevard is going to cause more congestion. Maybe they should have built I-75 along the river instead of going north of downtown.



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