We’re all happy to see spring start to warm things up, but that also means another season we’re not so fond of in these parts: construction season.
The I-96 Flex Route Project returns this year, bringing confusion and backups in very close quarters.
Local 4 generally waits until Thursday, April 11, or Friday to bring you the good news of construction problems. But the changes are so vast, and the impact on vacations so large that if you’re headed that way, we thought it was essential to give you the heads-up so you can start preparing now.
Driving I-96 near Beck and Milford roads is much like driving with blinders.
There are very tight quarters between barriers, lots of traffic, and construction equipment moving alongside you and into the roadway.
Drivers like Karen Odell of Novi say it’s painful.
“It was a pain,” said Odell. “The onramps were the biggest thing. Trying to get on, and then once you did get on and make your way around, it was tough again waiting for the traffic.”
Officials say it’s not going to get much better this summer.
Starting this weekend, I-96 will flex on two sides of the highway, affecting everyone riding on the eastbound side while they tear up and re-pave the other side.
That means the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will close many I-96 ramps, including Beck Road, on eastbound I-96. Southbound Kent Lake to I-96 will be closed.
You’ll want to use Grand River Avenue as the detour. Southbound Wixom Road to the eastbound I-96 ramp, they’ll close the left lane. Southbound M-5 to westbound I-96 closes Saturday through the fall.
Novi Road in either direction to westbound I-96 closes Saturday through the fall. Once again, Grand River is the detour.
The westbound I-96 ramps to Novi and the westbound Milford Road ramps to I-96 will also close.
“In the end, when it’s done, hopefully, it will be great, so we just have to suffer through it,” Odell said.
We spoke with MDOT officials on the phone Tuesday (April 9), and they said there was some solace to be found.
Last year, we all rode on the old and battered roadway, which made the roads undulate underneath us along with the tight traffic.
This year, they say we’ll all ride on the good roadway. That’s as good as it gets.