OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – A construction project on I-75 is causing problems for people living in Oakland County, and those residents are fed up.
Local 4 spoke to people who live in the area, and they said the roadwork is even causing congestion in nearby side streets.
“I’ve seen half-mile back-ups on Holcomb, either direction, depending on the time of day,” said Tom Breneiser, of Clarkston.
Breneiser said multiple roads have been blocked off to through traffic, and that makes it difficult to get around.
Some drivers have even received tickets for trying to drive through.
Breneiser said his main concern is that first responders might have trouble responding to calls quickly.
“I had one incident where I ended up three or four minutes after the EMT arrived, my heart stopped,” Breneiser said. “They immediately did CPR and brought me around quickly, so there was no permanent damage. Now, if they’re delayed 5-10 minutes because of streets being closed because of immense back-ups, I wouldn’t be here talking to you.”
Breneiser isn’t the only one who’s worried.
“We are asking for something basic: access to our homes, the ability to get to work, to take our children to school, to move safely and freely in our own community,” one woman said during an Independence Township meeting.
The meeting was well-attended by residents who are frustrated by the closure of Bluegrass and Miller roads near Holcomb road.
“We, just in May, had a tragic event with my child, who ended up dying,” one man said. “It was 22 minutes to the station. No way to get on the highway if you had a medical emergency. This is a serious problem.”
Township officials said they’re working to find a solution, but it also depends on MDOT and the Oakland County Road Commission.
“We’re looking at everything possible we can do to try to alleviate it,” Township Supervisor Chuck Phyle said. “We’re gonna keep trying and keep pushing.”
“MDOT has tried a number of different things, with additional signage and warnings ahead of time,” MDOT said in a statement. “We’ve actually helped close some of the local roads to traffic to keep that detour traffic from going through some of the smaller neighborhoods.”