MICHIGAN

MDOT suspends some road projects during Memorial Day weekend

Amelia Benavides-Colón
The Detroit News

U.S. highways will be far busier over the Memorial Day holiday weekend than last year, and the Michigan Department of Transportation will be doing its part to clear the way.

More than 62% of lane restrictions will be removed to ease traffic delays, Jeff Cranson, an MDOT spokesman, said. 

MDOT will be pulling back barrels at 121 out of 194 projects statewide from 3 p.m. Friday, May 28 to 6 a.m. Tuesday, June 1, said Cranson, "Though there are some projects where pavement has been removed or bridges are in the midst of major work, where lanes cannot be reopened."

Traffic moves along the Interstate 76 highway in Philadelphia.

A list of active projects is available on the MiDrive site.

AAA officials say travel will increase as more Americans have been vaccinated against COVID-19, about half of U.S. adults, and consumer confidence is growing.

In Michigan, the AAA auto club in Dearborn is expecting 1.09 million travelers to hit the roads, take flights and use other means of transportation for the weekend, the traditional launch of the travel season.

Those expected to leave home for the weekend represent a 57% increase from last year, when fewer than 700,000 hit the roads in Michigan.

The estimated hike in travelers, however, remains below the 1.2 million in Michigan who ventured out for the holiday weekend in 2019, according to the AAA auto club.

Nationally, the auto club and insurance company said last week it expects more than 37 million people to travel at least 50 miles from home during the holiday weekend, up 60% from last year, which was the lowest since AAA began keeping records in 2000.

If the AAA forecast is right, however, it would still be 6 million people, or 13%, fewer than left home over Memorial Day in 2019.

AAA said 37 million Americans plan driving trips May 27-31, a 60% increase over last year, and nearly 2.5 million will take plane trips, nearly six times more than the same period in 2020. A small number will take buses or trains.

So far in May, nearly 1.5 million people per day have gone through U.S. airport checkpoints, according to the Transportation Security Administration. AAA said its air-travel forecast seems low because it counts each traveler once, while TSA counts somebody twice if they take a round-trip flight.

The following is a list of work zones that will remain active during the holiday weekend where travelers can expect lane restrictions and posted detours. 

Wayne County

  • I-75/M-8 (Davison Freeway) will have the following restrictions in place north of downtown Detroit:
    • Northbound I-75 will have two lanes open between Caniff Street and 7 Mile Road.
    • Southbound I-75 will have two lanes open between 8 Mile Road and M-8.
    • M-8 has multiple lane closures in each direction between M-10 and I-75.  
  • I-75 has the following restriction in place southwest of downtown Detroit:
    • Southbound I-75 has one lane closed from Vernon Highway to Springwells Street.
    • Northbound I-75 has one lane closed from Clark Street to Vernon Highway.
    • The Springwells Street interchange is closed
    • The Livernois Avenue bridge over I-75 is closed.
    • The Clark Street bridge over I-75 is closed.
  • I-94 will have the following restrictions in place east of downtown Detroit:
    • The Frontenac Street bridge over I-94 and the service drive is closed.
    • The Burns Street bridge over I-94 and the service drive is closed.  
    • The Cadillac Avenue bridge over I-94 and the service drive is closed. 
    • The Second Avenue bridge over I-94 is closed.
  • M-3 (Gratiot Avenue) has one lane open in each direction at Randolph Street.
  • US-12 (Michigan Avenue) has two lanes open in each direction between Beech Daly Road and US-24 (Telegraph Road).

Oakland County

  • Grand River Avenue will be closed and detoured between Orchard Lake Road and Shiawassee Street for an event.
  • I-75 has two lanes open in each direction between 8 Mile and 13 Mile roads.

Macomb County

  • 11 Mile Road has two lanes open with the right-turn lane closed at M-3.
  • M-3 (Gratiot Avenue) has two lanes open between 11 Mile Road and Maryland Street.
  • M-59 has two lanes open in each direction between Romeo Plank and North Avenue.

Southern Michigan

  • I-69, Eaton County, has the following restrictions in place:
    • One lane closed in each direction at Baseline Highway.
    • One lane closed in each direction with a traffic shift from Ainger Road to Lansing Road.
  • I-75, Monroe County, has lane closures under the LaPlaisance Road bridge. Southbound LaPlaisance Road is closed over I-75.
  • I-94 in Jackson, Jackson County, has the following restrictions in place
    • The M-106 (Cooper Street) entrance ramp to westbound I-94 is closed and detoured.
    • Northbound US-127/M-50 (West Avenue) has one lane closed at I-94.
    • The northbound US-127/M-50 (West Avenue) ramp to westbound I-94 is closed and detoured.
  • US-23/M-14 in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, has one eastbound lane closed over the Huron River for barrier wall repair.

Central Michigan and Thumb

  • I-69, Genesee County, will have two lanes open in each direction between Hammerberg Road and M-54 with a traffic shift. 
  • I-69, Lapeer County, will have one lane open in each direction between Newark Road and Harvey Road. Ramp closures at M-53 will remain in place with a detour posted.
  • I-69, St. Clair County, will have one lane open in each direction between Miller Road and Stapleton Road with traffic shifts. The eastbound I-69 ramps at Riley Center Road will remain closed with a posted detour. 
  • I-75/M-46, Saginaw County, has three open lanes in the peak direction of travel with a moveable barrier wall between I-675 and Hess Road.
  • M-52, Saginaw County, has one lane open in alternating directions over Marsh Creek via temporary signals.
  • M-65, Arenac County, is closed between US-23 and Main Street in Twining. Detour posted. 

Southwest Michigan

  • I-69, Calhoun County, has one lane closed in each direction at J Drive N.
  • I-94, Berrien County, has two lanes open in each direction from I-196 to Britain Avenue with a traffic shift.
  • I-94 BL, Berrien County, is closed from Crystal Avenue to I-94. Detour posted.
  • M-343 in Richland, Kalamazoo County, has single-lane closures at G Avenue. G Avenue and 27th Street are closed and detoured.
  • US-131 BR in Constantine, St. Joseph County, has one lane open over the St. Joseph River between Water Street and Locus Street with a temporary traffic signal.

West Michigan

  • I-196 in Grand Rapids has a traffic shift and one lane open in each direction between Ionia and Maryland avenues. Plymouth Avenue is closed over I-196; the westbound I-196 off ramp to Fuller Avenue is closed. 
  • I-196 in Grand Rapids has the eastbound bridge over the Grand River closed. 
  • I-196, Allegan County, will have one lane open in each direction with southbound traffic shifted over to the northbound side between Holland and Saugatuck. The southbound I-196 on and off ramps at Blue Star Highway (Exit 41) are closed. 
  • I-196, Allegan County, will have one lane open in each direction over Pier Cove, just south of M-89. 
  • M-37 (Cherry Valley Avenue), Kent and Barry counties, will have lane closures and a traffic shift from 108th Street to Garbow Road.  
  • US-31, Muskegon County, will have one lane open in each direction between the Colby Street and Fruitvale Road exits.  
  • US-31 BR (Pere Marquette Highway), Mason County, is closed just south of US-10.

Northern Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

  • M-22 in Frankfort, Benzie County, is closed between M-115 and 7th Street. Posted detour.
  • M-37, Grand Traverse County, has one lane open in each direction south of Traverse City with traffic shifts.
  • M-55 in Manistee, Manistee County, is closed between US-31 and Stronach Road and detoured.
  • M-115, Wexford County, is closed between M-37 and 9 Mile Road west of Mesick. Detour: M-37, 4 Road and 9 Road.
  • US-23 in Cheboygan, Cheboygan County, will have southbound traffic detoured on local streets.
  • US-23 in Harrisville, Alcona County, is detoured for through-traffic. Local access is maintained.
  • US-31, Charlevoix County, is detoured south of Charlevoix for through-traffic. Local access is maintained. 
  • US-131 in Boyne Falls, Charlevoix County, is closed from Cherry Hill Road to Skop Road. Local access is maintained.

Upper Peninsula

  • M-28 in Munising, Alger County, will have a directional detour in place. 
  • M-129, Chippewa County, has one lane open in alternating directions over the Munuscong River south of Pickford via temporary signals.
  • US-2 in Bessemer, Gogebic County, has one lane open in alternating directions between Clayberg Street and Old US-2 via temporary signals.
  • US-41 in Marquette Township, Marquette County, has one lane closed in each direction from County Road 492 to Washington Street.
  • US-41 in Nestoria, Baraga County, will have one lane open in alternating directions between Pine Avenue and King Lake Road via temporary traffic signals.
  • US-41 (Townsend Drive) in Houghton, Houghton County, has one lane open in each direction between MacInnes Drive and Pearl Street with a traffic shift.    
  • US-41, Houghton County, has one lane open in alternating directions over Peepsock Creek south of Houghton via temporary signals.