MDOT says it wants feedback on I-94 expansion

Some of the more controversial parts of the proposal to modernize, and possibly expand, a 7-mile stretch of I-94 in Detroit may be up for debate.

Michigan Department of Transportation spokesman Rob Morosi said the agency is seeking feedback on the addition of continuous service drives along the route, from Conner on Detroit's east side, to I-96 on the city's west side, along with the other aspects of what has been proposed as a $2.9-billion highway reconstruction plan.

Public meetings will be held today and Thursday.

The revelation that the agency is willing to discuss the need for continuous service drives follows the news last month that the number of lanes on the highway has not been determined, despite earlier plans of an expansion from three to four lanes in each direction.

Morosi said the continuous service drives would help with local connectivity, including for people trying to get from one neighborhood to another, but he indicated that their inclusion is not set in stone.

Safety, Morosi said, is the key nonnegotiable issue, meaning the agency would insist on extending I-94's notoriously short freeway entrance ramps and replacing the left-hand exits at the Lodge Freeway with modern, right-hand exits.

"In the end, we want to build the safest, most reliable section of I-94 we can build (for 2015 and 2050) because we have to build into the future," Morosi said.

But MDOT has challenges as it tries to move forward with a project not expected to wrap up for more than two decades. MDOT has been meeting with representatives of the historic United Sound Systems Recording Studios on Second Avenue as it seeks to possibly have the studio moved to allow for changes MDOT wants to make as part of the project.

Detroit approved historic district designation in May for the studio, which has hosted musical legends including Berry Gordy Jr., George Clinton and Aretha Franklin. Janese Chapman, a historic planner with the Detroit Historic Designation Advisory Board, has said that the designation would mean an additional federal review of the highway expansion project because of its use of federal funds.

But activists also want MDOT to conduct additional environmental research because MDOT's original environmental impact statement was completed more than 10 years ago.

Nick Schroeck, director of the Transnational Environmental Law Clinic at Wayne State University, where he is an assistant clinical professor, said a supplemental environmental impact statement is needed to determine whether the project is needed. He said it's also required by law because of changes in the region over the last decade and societal trends.

"Millennials are driving less, it's a fact," said Schroeck, who is also executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center. "If that trend continues … are we going to need these bigger highways."

Schroeck said the end date for completion — 2036 — is what "really blows your hair back" when considering the age of traffic data used for the original assessment. MDOT currently estimates 160,000 vehicles per day travel through the area.

"We're definitely looking at all legal options," he said, in trying to force MDOT to conduct a supplemental environmental impact study.

MDOT is re-evaluating sections of the route, but Schroeck said that approach fails to consider the impact of the entire project. He said the supplemental report would potentially add a couple of years to the process.

"What's the difference in finishing in 2036 and 2038 … just to make sure you get it right?" he said.

Schroeck said his group is primarily opposed to the possibility of additional highway lanes and continuous service drives, which many critics believe would have a negative impact on neighborhoods such as the burgeoning Midtown area.

Schroeck said his group is not opposed to the replacement of crumbling bridges or even fixing the exit and entrance ramps.

Morosi said MDOT acknowledges that there have been changes to the fabric of Midtown and other neighborhoods that border I-94, but officials believe the re-evaluations being completed will meet the concerns of Schroeck and others.

Construction on the project is expected to begin in earnest in 2019, although replacement of major bridges will happen before that.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @_ericdlawrence.

Meetings on I-94 expansion

■ Today — 9-11 a.m. and 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Cathedral Church of St. Paul (Barth Hall)

4800 Woodward Ave., Detroit

■ Thursday — 2-4 and 6-8 p.m.

Wayne County Community College District, Eastern Campus

5901 Conner Ave., Detroit