Michigan Notes

[wanderer2575]

A couple upcoming open houses for metro Detroit projects:

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is hosting a final open house to share the findings of its feasibility study for the I-75/M-102 (8 Mile Road) interchange in the cities of Detroit and Hazel Park.  Attendees are invited to learn more about the study findings, technical work and how public input helped shape the proposed recommendations.  MDOT staff and consultants will be available to answer questions.

Tuesday, July 29, 2025
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
A brief presentation at 5:45 p.m.

Hazel Park District Library, Event Room
123 E Nine Mile Road
Hazel Park, MI 48030

https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/news-outreach/pressreleases/2025/07/15/mdot-open-house-july-29-to-discuss-i-75


The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is hosting a public meeting to discuss an overview of a planned M-153 (Ford Road) rebuilding project in Canton Township.  MDOT, Wayne County and Canton Township are partnering to rebuild M-153 (Ford Road) between Sheldon Road and I-275, including boulevards to eliminate left turns to reduce crashes and improve traffic flow through the corridor.  The project is currently scheduled for 2028-2029, with work expected to begin in spring 2028.

Wednesday, August 20, 2025
4-6 p.m.

Summit on the Park
46000 Summit Parkway
Canton Township, MI 48188

https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/news-outreach/pressreleases/2025/07/15/mdot-public-meeting-aug-20-to-discuss-m-153

[KelleyCook]

MDOT has selected the urban diamond interchange for the I-75/8-Mile Road location.

I, for one, will not miss the hideous 8-mile flyover bridge where, for 40+ years, the homeless congregated and weather permitting came out and trolled for money from every person turning under it.

[afguy]

Three years later: GR and state lay out plan on how to use $10M grant for Wealthy St. and US-131

The safety of this interchange has been a concern for many drivers. Three years ago, community leaders started the discussion of what to do about it. Since then, not much has changed.

"We'll really go out of our way to avoid it," Bruce Buursma said. It's a concerning intersection for some drivers.

"It's a short ramp, and so it backs up quickly," Buursma said. "I can usually easily avoid it. It's a little trickier now because of the Market Street construction. So sometimes we find ourselves using the Wealthy Street ramp, although not much." Greg Warren often travels this spot for work. He drives a semi-truck and knows it's not easy to navigate, especially with 18 wheels. "It's just like, oh, man, this is a lot of anxiety, but I make it work. So it's a little tight," Warren added.

Three years ago, Grand Rapids and the state discussed revamping this area after receiving a $10 million grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

I've learned that these two are expected to accept a plan on Tuesday on how to use that money:

• $4 million to the National Environmental Policy Act
• $3 million to Design
• $3 million public utility infrastructure

I asked MDOT why this process is taking so long.

"Our annual budget for everything in one year is about $100 million, and to rebuild this whole stretch is going to cost around $600-$700 million," MDOT Grand Region Communications Representative John Richards said.

Richards adds even if they had the money now it would still take years before work starts.

https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/grand-rapids/three-years-later-gr-and-state-lay-out-plan-on-how-to-use-10m-grant-for-wealthy-st-and-us-131

[afguy]

An article from Mlive has a little more detail. MDOT engineers are proposing to bring Wealthy Street down to street level and elevate U.S. 131 over Wealthy Street.


Grand Rapids moving forward with proposed redesign of U.S. 131 interchange

The city of Grand Rapids is moving forward with a plan to redesign a highway segment that is driven by about 120,000 cars per day.

Engineers are proposing to flip the current configuration of the U.S. 131 interchange at Wealthy Street by lowering the street to at-grade level and elevating the interstate over it. The Grand Rapids City Commission approved a $7 million agreement with the Michigan Department of Transportation to evaluate and design the project and conduct community engagement. The work will be funded by a $10 million grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation awarded in 2022. It will be years before construction begins on the S-curve redesign – currently, there's no funding or timeline established for the project, said Grand Rapids city engineer Tim Burkman. However, because of the current condition of the interchange, built in the early 1960s, the city believes the project will happen in the next decade. The proposal is to bring Wealthy Street at-grade and elevate U.S. 131. Currently, Wealthy Street is elevated at the interchange and passes over U.S. 131 in a configuration that results in traffic backups and crashes.

The goal of redesigning the interchange is to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion and delays, engineers said.

https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2025/08/grand-rapids-moving-forward-with-proposed-redesign-of-us-131-interchange.html

[afguy]

City Of Howell Seeks $6 Million Appropriation For D-19/I-96 Interchange Improvements

Howell City Manager Erv Suida and Police Chief Mike Dunn testified Thursday before the Michigan House Committee on Appropriations in support of funding improvements to the D-19/I-96 interchange. The City of Howell is advocating for $6 million in state funding to address long-standing safety and traffic concerns at the vital transportation corridor.

Republican State Representative Jason Woolford of Howell has sponsored the appropriation request and is said to have been "instrumental in championing this critical infrastructure project for his district and the Howell community".

Suida said "The D-19/I-96 interchange has been a priority for the City of Howell for many years. We are grateful to Representative Woolford for taking the lead on this effort and for recognizing the importance of these improvements to the safety, accessibility, and growth of our community."

If the requested funding is approved, planning and construction on the long-awaited interchange improvements could begin soon - delivering long-term benefits for residents, businesses, and visitors traveling through the area.

The City said it will continue working closely with state officials and Representative Woolford to ensure the project receives the support it needs to move forward.

https://www.whmi.com/news/article/d-19-96-interchange-improvements-howell-woolford

[JREwing78]

City Of Howell Seeks $6 Million Appropriation For D-19/I-96 Interchange Improvements

$6 Million isn't a huge number. It's sufficient to rebuild the entrance and exit ramps, and for roundabouts where they meet D-19 and to rebuild the overpass. I'm not sure it's enough to widen the 1960-vintage overpass to 2 lanes each way. 

The new racetrack going in just east of the interchange could well be a catalyst for further changes to the immediate area. 

[sprjus4]

The $6 million might not be the total cost for the project, but rather a portion. I've seen interchange reconstruction projects get funding from multiple sources, a little from each.

[Flint1979]

Current situation on I-75 northbound in Saginaw County. There is an accident near the 149 mile marker leaking chemicals onto the highway possibly bleach. Hazmet is in route and I-75 is closed between mile markers 144 and 149. This is in addition to the northbound Zilwaukee Bridge being closed for three months. I-75 is currently backed up to Townline Road which is in between mile markers 140 and 141.

I-675 is backed up at both ends.

[JREwing78]

How much you wanna bet the driver was more than a bit methed up?

Crash closes historic Michigan covered bridge again, motor home hits warning sign
https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2025/08/crash-closes-historic-michigan-covered-bridge-again-motor-home-hits-warning-sign.html

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, MI — The last time a vehicle hit the overhead sign near a historic bridge — less than a year ago — road officials increased signage visibility to try to stop it from happening again.

Despite their efforts, another crash occurred on Monday, Aug. 4, closing the Langley Covered Bridge again in Southwest Michigan so repairs can be made to the signs (also known as height limiters).

The 7-foot-tall height limiters are placed before the bridge so that people don't actually hit the historic bridge, St. Joseph County Road Commission Managing Director John Lindsey said.

"It is very frustrating," Lindsey said.

"After both height limiters were hit last December, I asked Ed Klein our Director of Safety to replace all of the height and weight warning signs with bigger bolder signage to help prevent these accidents," he said. "Apparently that didn't help!"

They have been damaged 10 or 12 times over the last 15 years, he said.

He shared a photograph of a vehicle that was wrecked in the crash.

It was an old motor home and the driver was not hurt, Lindsey said. The driver did not own the vehicle and had no driver's license and no insurance, he said.

"Your GPS is wrong" other signs read, warning trucks to turn around.

The bridge, which is a Howe truss bridge, was built over the St. Joseph River in 1887. It is among the longest surviving covered bridges in the state. It is the longest covered bridge in Michigan, Lindsey said.

The bridge is about 25 miles south of Kalamazoo, near Centreville and Three Rivers.

The height limiter signs were installed during restoration work in 2009.

[JoePCool14]

How much you wanna bet the driver was more than a bit methed up?

Crash closes historic Michigan covered bridge again, motor home hits warning sign
The driver did not own the vehicle and had no driver's license and no insurance, he said.

Sounds like no amount of signage was going to prevent that one... 

[Great Lakes Roads]

https://www.wilx.com/2025/08/18/national-group-proposes-new-interstate-highway-michigan-south-carolina/

When Ohio talks about I-73, it gets Michigan talking about I-73 as well!

[The Ghostbuster]

Interstate 73 has been dead in Michigan since 2001. I don't expect anything to come of Interstate 73 in Ohio, despite the study and AARoads thread.

[afguy]

With the Michigan House and Senate at an impasse with road funding, MDOT has been highlighting road and bridge projects that would be impacted. Today they highlighted the I-69/I-75 rebuild project. When first announced back in 2019, it was $700 million, now the cost is $1.3 billion.

Unfunded I-75/I-69 interchange at risk, including critical flyover ramp bridge in Genesee County

As the 2025 construction season moves into its final stages, officials with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) are looking ahead to the end of service lives for critical roads and bridges. MDOT is highlighting this need in a video news release about the I-75/I-69 interchange and one of the critical ramps, ahead of important discussions among policymakers, as the future of road and bridge funding hangs in the balance.

About two-thirds of MDOT's bridges have far exceeded their original design lives. MDOT now faces the possibility of more than 100 trunkline bridges closing to traffic by the year 2035, impacting approximately 1.8 million drivers daily, if a comprehensive transportation funding package isn't secured. While maintaining quality roads is a priority for MDOT, bridge conditions, especially, must meet a minimum rating to remain safe and open to the public. 

The I-75/I-69 interchange in Genesee County is no exception to the aging bridge epidemic. Located in Flint, this critical interchange serves as an important corridor for commerce, commuter and tourism traffic.

This interchange needs a complete redesign and rebuild due to declining road and bridge conditions as well as the need for reengineering to accommodate today's traffic speeds and flow. The cost estimate to rebuild the interchange is approximately $1.3 billion.

The I-75/I-69 interchange has 21 bridges in the immediate vicinity, with 33 bridges total that would be impacted by a complete reconfiguration project. Eight of the interchange bridges are in poor or serious condition, including the northbound I-75 flyover ramp to westbound I-69 bridge. This ramp is in serious condition.

https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/news-outreach/pressreleases/2025/08/20/unfunded-i-75-i-69-interchange-at-risk-including-critical-flyover-ramp-bridge

[The Ghostbuster]

I must admit, the existing Interstate 69/75 interchange looks very weird: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9848073,-83.7330625,1572m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDgxOC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D. How would that interchange be reconfigured when the W. Bristol Rd. interchange and especially the Miller Rd. interchange are both so close to the 69/75 junction?

[Flint1979]

There is no reason for I-73 to exist in the state of Michigan.