Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


MDOT is hosting a community open house tonight, February 24th, to discuss the upcoming final phase of the Restore the Reuther project on I-696 in Metro Detroit - scheduled to begin in early March.

MDOT staff will be on hand to answer questions and share project details.

Community stakeholders, city representatives, local businesses, commuters, and interested residents are encouraged to attend.

The open house will run from 6 to 8pm at the Fitzgerald Recreation Center located at 4355 E. 9 Mile Road in Warren.

The last phase of the Restore the Reuther project is expected to begin in early March.

MDOT advises that eastbound and westbound I-696 will be rebuilt between Lahser Road and I-75 in 2025-2026, while in 2027, I-696 will have major road work done between I-75 and Dequindre Road. The project includes rebuilding the roadway, bridge work, and drainage structures.

As part of the project, 60 bridges will be repaired, including the rebuilding of the Church Street Plaza bridge that contains Victoria Park. During that rebuilding, a walkway detour will be in place.

Westbound traffic will be maintained while eastbound and westbound I-696 are rebuilt between Lahser Road and I-75.

Eastbound traffic will be detoured via southbound M-10 (Lodge Freeway), eastbound M-8 (Davison Highway), and northbound I-75 back to eastbound I-696.

Translation – that section of eastbound 696 will be shut down for basically two years.

Project information is available in the provided link.