Interstate 696 Michigan
Overview
Interstate 696 (Walter P. Reuther Freeway) forms a northerly bypass of Detroit between I-96 at Novi and I-94 at St. Clair Shores. The freeway is mostly urban, traveling below grade from Southfield to Roseville and along a trenched freeway parallel to Eleven Mile Road between Evergreen Road (Exit 11) and Southfield Road (Exit 12). A cut and cover tunnel takes the route below parkland south of Lincoln Drive, where another trenched section leads I-696 to two additional cut and cover tunnels east of Greenfield Road (Exit 13).
A symmetrical stack interchange joins Interstate 696 with I-75 at the city of Ferndale. The freeway parallels 10 Mile Road both leading to and away from that exchange, before it shifts northward back to 11 Mile Road ahead of the four level interchange with Mound Road. I-696 carries eight lanes from M-5 to M-10, six lanes from M-10 (Lodge Freeway) to Greenfield Road (Exit 13), eight lanes again from Exit 13 to M-3 (Gratiot Road) and six lanes to I-94 at St. Clair Shores.
History
The Michigan State Highway Department recommended Interstate Route Numbering in 1958 outlined that through routes in urban areas should follow the circumferential route. The consensus was that utilizing the circumferential route would relieve unnecessary traffic through the urban area, and that the circumferential routes would be ready for operation for a considerable length of time prior to the completion of the urban connecting routes. Within the Detroit area, what would become I-696 was assigned Interstate Route 98.
The American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) addressed the Michigan recommendations on August 29, 1958:
For the Detroit area we note that you have used 2-digit numbers that have not been assigned by the Route Numbering Committee and which are not available for metropolitan areas.
AASHO instead recommended that Route 98 be changed to 696. The state concurred with the recommendation on September 12, 1958 and AASHO gave final approval on Decemember 18, 1958.
Interstate 696 opened initially between I-96 and U.S. 24 in late 1963. Business Spur I-696 was designated the year before and decommissioned by 1970. The next portion of freeway opened was the stretch between I-75 and I-94 in 1979.1 Completion of the 28.2 mile long route took another ten years with an opening on December 14, 1989. Opening ceremonies were held by Michigan Governor Blanchard for the 9.1 mile section from U.S. 24 (Telegraph Road) east to Interstate 75.2
Detroit – 1976/77 Michigan Official Highway Map
Interstate 696 next opened between I-75 at Madison Heights and I-94 at Roseville in 1979. Until 1989, I-696 at Southfield defaulted onto the Governor John Lodge Freeway (U.S. 10).
Route Information
Source: December 31, 2021 Interstate Route Log and Finders List
I-696 Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT)
Source: 2017 AADT – MDOT Traffic Volumes Map
Business Spur I-696 traveled the length of the John C. Lodge Expressway from Smithfield southeast to Downtown Detroit until 1970, when it was replaced by a realignment of U.S. 10.
East End
– St. Clair Shores, Michigan
East at
East at
East End Throwback
East at
West at
Westbound I-94, one mile north of I-696 (W.P. Reuther Freeway) at Exit 230 with 12 Mile Road. I-696 serves as a bypass of Detroit by passing through Warren, Oak Park and Farmington Hills. At no point does the freeway enter Wayne County or the City of Detroit. These guides sign were replaced by 2013. Photo by John Harmon (01/01/01).
West End
– Novi, Michigan
West at
West at
Three lanes continue east from Interstate 96 onto I-696 (Walter P. Reuther Freeway) at Exit 163. Prior to 1976, I-96 ran east over what is now the M-5 freeway spur leading southeast to Grand River Road. The route was realigned then to overlap with I-275 southbound when it opened between Novi and the Jeffries Freeway at M-14. Photo by Doug Kerr (03/07/09).
West
North at
South at
Sources:
- Michigan Highways: Highways 250 through 696 (Chris Bessert).
- “Detroit freeway’s final link opened.” Toledo Blade (OH), December 15, 1989.
Page updated July 26, 2021.