The I-75 Modernization Project is pleased to announce the reopening of lanes and ramps following the 2022 construction season.  The freeway has been restored to three lanes in each direction and the ramps between 8 Mile Road and Square Lake Road have reopened for the winter months, except for the southbound I-75 ramps at 11 Mile Road.    

This season has had some amazing milestones, such as:     

A few weeks back, we announced that the tunnel boring machine (TBM) had reached the 12 Mile Road pump station. This process, which originally started in late 2019, entailed the rotating cutting wheel (also known as the "cutter head") using its teeth to dig away the soil while it turns. Miners in the tunnel then install 5-foot-long precast concrete wall segments while hydraulic jacks at the back of the TBM push against the ends of the wall segments to force the cutting wheel into the soil and move the tunnel forward.    

In this clip, you can see as the cutter head breaks through the ground and into the shaft site located just north of 12 Mile Road. *Note, this video is sped up to fit into a shortened clip.  

Following this breakthrough, the TBM was removed from the 12 Mile Road pump station and will be relaunched from the I-696 shaft construction site, proceeding south to a shaft site located near Meyers Avenue (see tunnel sequencing map). The relaunch process is expected to take a few months and the TBM will continue working into summer 2023. Once the TBM has completed mining operations, it will be removed from the ground, allowing crews to complete drop shaft work and finalize the tunnel drainage system. Concurrent with the tunnel mining, crews will complete the pump station north of 12 Mile Road in preparation to accept the tunnel drainage.  

Learn more about the TBM on our dedicated tunnel page here: http://modernize75.com/Project-Highlights-Tunnel. 

We are happy to announce the ramps from I-696 to northbound I-75, and the braid ramps at the northbound I-75/I-696 interchange have now opened! The reconfiguration of the I-75/I-696 interchange ramps using a braid design, eliminates the weave that previously occurred by separating the movements. This reconfiguration now allows I-696 motorists access to either northbound I-75 or 11 Mile Road using a new bridge, while the motorists exiting northbound I-75 to 11 Mile Road will braid under this new bridge to support a safer operation. Check out this graphic for more on this new design.   http://modernize75.com/2022-braid-ramp-drawing.pdf  

It is important to note that the 11 Mile Road ramps to and from southbound I-75 will remain closed until the fall of 2023 to allow the City of Royal Oak to install a new watermain and allow crews to rebuild the southbound I-75 service drive.  

Check out this video of the 12 Mile Road Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) in action now that it has reopened to traffic. In this video, you can see motorists flow from right to left through the interchange, as well as those making movements to enter southbound I-75. In addition, you can see crews continue to work on the surrounding area ahead of completion of work for the season. Crews will return in early 2023 to demolish the southbound I-75 bridge over 12 Mile Road in order to rebuild that structure, which will require closing 12 Mile Road in both directions at that time. 12 Mile Road is planned to reopen at the end of summer 2023. 

Crews are continuing to work hard to get the newly rebuilt I-75/I-696 "braid" ramp completed. In this video, we have a glimpse at the nearly complete ramp from I-696 to northbound I-75, as well as a unique view of what a driver would see when exiting northbound I-75 to 11 Mile Road, beneath the new structure.  

Crews are on track to reopen this interchange in mid-November. Stay tuned for the announcement!  

In our October flyover, you can see crews making great progress throughout the corridor. The work on the I-75/I-696 braid ramp interchange is coming along well. In this flyover, you can see the northbound I-75 ramp to 11 Mile Road (under the new I-696 ramp) is taking shape! Progress has been made with paving operations happening just south of Gardenia Avenue, motorists using the newly opened 12 Mile Road diverging diamond interchange, and work happening on the I-75 structure over the Red Run Drain.    

Crews are working hard to complete the 2022 construction season work!  tay tuned for more updates.