I-94 reopens after week-long closure to install Second Avenue bridge

Detroit — Interstate 94 opened to traffic Friday morning after it was closed for the past week between Interstate 75 and the Lodge Freeway while the new Second Avenue skeleton was put in place. 

By Tuesday the new bridge skeleton spanned the interstate, but officials said more time was needed to set it in place on support structures and clean up the road below. 

The Second Avenue bridge is the first of its kind in Michigan, a network-tied arch bridge with crisscrossing cables connecting the top of the bridge to the road surface. It replaced the original that was built in 1954 and there now is space for cars, pedestrians and bicyclists.

The bridge does not require a center pier for support, which will leave more space on I-94 for future connections and interchanges with other roads.

Putting the bridge's skeleton in place was only the first step. A driving surface must be built, a process that will require additional short-term closures of I-94, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation. 

hmackay@detroitnews.com