Spring must be around the corner because orange barrels are popping up in southeast Michigan.
Michigan Department of Transportation officials said barrels are now in place on Interstate 94 in preparation for a three-year project that will have a major impact on drivers starting March 2.
MDOT’s $353 million Restore94 project will improve a heavily traveled 13-mile stretch of the freeway from Interstate 275 near the Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus to Michigan Avenue at the Detroit-Dearborn border.
During a public hearing earlier this month, MDOT Assistant Construction Engineer Matt Hickman said the roadway is beaten up from decades of wear and tear.
Restore94 will deliver a “long-lasting project to maintain the safe movement of goods and services for the economy,” Hickman said.
Preparation is already underway with workers doing “extensive” tree clearing at the west end of the wooded median just east of Detroit Metro Airport, MDOT spokesperson Diane Cross said.
“Traffic is not currently being affected, although we have barrels on (eastbound and westbound) I-94 on the shoulder areas near the median to alert drivers to work going on in the area,” Cross said Friday in an email.
Workers are also preparing to begin a series of ramp and lane closures at the Southfield Freeway/I-94 interchange in Allen Park. The interchange was built in the 1980s and carries around 20,000 vehicles every day, MDOT said.
When construction begins in earnest on March 2, most of the interchange ramps there will be closed and drivers can expect several lane closures. MDOT will work on the eastbound side of I-94 first, routing traffic in both directions onto the westbound lanes, then shift all traffic to the eastbound lanes to work on the westbound side.
What drivers can expect starting March 2
Northbound M-39 (Southfield Road) will have lane closures from Allen Road to I-94 and the ramp to westbound I-94 will be closed. Drivers are being told to detour by continuing north on 39, then taking Exit 6 to eastbound U.S. 12, then heading south on Greenfield Road to I-94.
Southbound M-39 will have lane closures from Outer Drive to I-94 and the ramp to eastbound I-94 will be closed. MDOT suggests that drivers detour by taking Exit 7 to eastbound Ford Road (M-153), then southbound Weir Street to I-94.
Both directions of I-94 will also see lane closures for bridge work overhead.
Then, starting March 6, the southbound M-39 (Southfield Freeway) ramp to westbound I-94 will be closed. Traffic will be detoured via Exit 7 to eastbound Ford Road, then south on Wyoming Avenue and west on U.S. 12 to westbound I-94.
“These detours were selected due to a number of factors, including other construction happening on alternate roads, the distance of the detour route, driving through downtowns, etc., which would add more time to the detour route,” MDOT said in a written statement.
Work in the I-94 and Southfield Freeway interchange area includes resurfacing of the ramps and bridges, patching railing and beams and replacing the bridge approach, according to MDOT.
The full Restore94 project isn’t expected to be completed until 2029. Notable aspects include rebuilding the troubled Ecorse Road interchange and a complete reconstruction of the freeway west of Telegraph Road.
The project will also include improvements to lighting, work on cable barriers and drainage improvements, according to MDOT.
One to two lanes of I-94 are expected to be open in each direction throughout construction. Hickman said drivers will always be able to access the airport during the project.
mreinhart@detroitnews.com
@max_detroitnews
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Orange barrels are back: Here’s when detours begin on I-94 in Wayne County
Reporting by Max Reinhart, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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