DETROIT – The countdown is over as MDOT crews launched the final phase of the I-696 project Monday.
A stretch of eastbound I-696 -- between M-10 and I-75 -- will be closed for about two years.
It’s not just drivers who are concerned about navigating the challenges.
Major retailers and freight companies are also brainstorming detours to cope with the partial eastbound closure.
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has made it clear that no one will be immune to the shutdown.
Alternate routes, wasted fuel and gridlock await drivers and businesses such as Northfield Trucking Company.
Michelle Lavon-Paddock, a safety director for the freight company, explained they transport products ranging from children’s toys to fire extinguishers.
“We have a lot of inbound and outbound for UPS,” she said.
The company is concerned about the congestion due to the intersecting freeways in the area.
Amazon, one of the world’s largest online retailers, is also preparing for bumper-to-bumper traffic on alternate routes.
Spokesperson Steve Kelly shared with Local 4 how the company adjusts on-the-fly and provides real-time updates to ensure deliveries are made on time.
Drivers use a GPS tool loaded with their delivery route, allowing the company to communicate with them moment by moment.
Northfield Trucking plans to rely heavily on its dispatchers to navigate the 10-mile stretch of closure.
The scramble to get products to customers and businesses is in overdrive.
Additionally, the freight company is concerned about frost laws, which impose lower weight restrictions on certain roads during warm weather in the spring. This raises questions about how truckers will be affected and whether the detours will be truck-friendly.