Fast facts: 

• The ongoing rebuilding of I-75 in Oakland County enters another stage this weekend, with crews closing the southbound I-75 exit ramp to 11 Mile Road and the 11 Mile Road entrance ramp to southbound I-75.     
• A weekend closure is needed for the southbound I-75 exit to eastbound and westbound I-696.      
• By 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, crews will reopen the southbound I-75 exit ramp to 12 Mile Road, and the 12 Mile Road entrance ramp to southbound I-75.       

Changes are coming to the ongoing I-75 modernization project this weekend, with two ramps closing, two ramps reopening, and a closure of the southbound I-75 ramps to eastbound and westbound I-696.  

Beginning at 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, crews will close the southbound I-75 ramps to and from 11 Mile Road. In addition, the southbound service drive will close from north of Gardenia Avenue to I-696. The closures are needed to allow the City of Royal Oak to install a new watermain under the southbound service drive and will remain in place until Sept. 1, 2023.       

Beginning at 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7 and ending by 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 10, the southbound I-75 exit to eastbound and westbound I-696 will be closed. The closure is needed to allow crews to prep the area for retaining wall construction. In addition, the right lane of southbound I-75 will be closed from Lincoln Avenue to I-696. At 5 a.m. Monday, the two-lane ramp will have a single-lane closed until late February 2023. During the single-lane closure, access will be maintained to eastbound and westbound I-696. 

By 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, both directions of 12 Mile Road under I-75 will reopen. In addition, crews will reopen the southbound I-75 exit ramp and the 12 Mile Road entrance ramp to southbound I-75. The northbound I-75 ramps to and from 12 Mile Road are expected to reopen in mid-November. In late February 2023, 12 Mile Road will be closed under I-75, along with the southbound ramps, to allow for the building of the southbound I-75 bridge over 12 Mile Road. 

Press Release

Work on the 12 Mile diverging diamond interchange (DDI) has made great progress. In our August flyover video, you can see the northbound I-75 bridge over 12 Mile Road as well as the pavement taking shape for the entrance/exit ramps and roadway. 

The 12 Mile Road interchange will be partially opened in early to mid-October, weather permitting. 12 Mile Road under I-75 will be opened for east/west traffic movements and the southbound I-75 ramps to and from 12 Mile Road will be opened. The full interchange will be opened by mid-November of 2022 with the reopening of the northbound I-75 ramps to and from 12 Mile Road.  It is important to note, 12 Mile Road will again be closed to through traffic starting around March of 2023 and remain closed for construction of the southbound I-75 bridge over 12 Mile Road. The goal will be to reopen the interchange by the end of August 2023. 

The 12 Mile Road diverging diamond interchange (DDI) will bring a design that improves safety and mobility. For more about DDIs and how they work, please visit our website: http://modernize75.com/Project-Highlights-DDI. 

Our crews are continuing to make great progress in the building of the I-75/I-696 braid ramp. In this video, you can see the new location of the eastbound and westbound I-696 ramps to northbound 75 as they connect to the braid ramp bridge, progress on the braid bridge structure, and the rebuilding of the service drive in this area.     

Ultimately, the work on this structure will reconfigure the I-75/I-696 interchange ramps using a braid design, eliminating the weave that previously occurred by separating the movements. The northbound I-75 exit ramp to 11 Mile Road will braid under the new I-696 bridge to northbound I-75, which will provide a safer operation. I-696 traffic will also have access to exit to the service drive just north of Lincoln Avenue. Check out this graphic for more on this new design.    

http://modernize75.com/media/f15kkscg/2022-braid-ramp-drawing.pdf

In our August flyover, you get a look at the progress of the "braid" ramps at the I-75/I-696 interchange, the new pavement on I-75 north of Lincoln Avenue, the wrap-up activity at the Ground Movement zone (now that tunneling operations have resumed), the beginning stages of the 12 Mile Road diverging diamond interchange, and a look at the unique beams over the Red Run Drain that will help maintenance workers access the George W. Kuhn treatment basin.   

Fun fact: Typical steel beams are approximately 100 feet long; however, the beams for the bridge over the Red Run Drain have to be 225 feet long, requiring crews to field splice them together onsite. Field splicing is a method that connects two or more sections of the beams, allowing more flexibility in the manufacturing, shipping and installation of the materials.  

We recently posted our July flyover video showing the I-75/I-696 interchange "braid" ramp construction that showed a glimpse of the beam setting process for this bridge. This time lapse video provides a compilation of the beams being set over a two-week time period. 

Typically, beams are set in one whole piece before installing the bridge deck; however, due to the length of the bridge, the beams are fabricated in three pieces and transported to the site. Once they are set in place and bolted together, they form one long, continuous beam.