'No more Band-Aids' for I-75: Big tear-up starts Monday, MDOT says

No more "Band-Aids" for I-75.

That's the message from Michigan Department of Transportation spokesman Rob Morosi as the $1-billion reconstruction and widening project in Oakland County kicks off next week on a 3-mile section through Bloomfield Township, Auburn Hills and Troy. The total project will affect more than 17 miles of I-75 and be completed in eight phases, with the final piece scheduled for 2030.

Citing an increasing level of maintenance costs — from $1.1 million in 2012 to $1.9 million in 2016 — and the crash history of the road, Morosi said the need for the project is clear and that it would update what he described as a "1960s" highway, which was built between 1957 and 1973.

"This modern design will mean greatly improved safety," Morosi said during a meeting with members of the media in Detroit today. "There's no more Band-Aids folks. ... It's time to rebuild."

Morosi said a five-year analysis of crashes points to a "true capacity issue" on the highway. The entire stretch had 5,564 crashes, including more than 600 at the Square Lake Road interchange, resulting in 1,306 injuries. The key is that 63.5% happened in dry conditions and 52% were rear-end crashes, he said.

And Morosi noted that traffic is expected to increase. The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments has projected that traffic volumes between Eight Mile and M-59 on I-75 will increase 10% in total between 2015 and 2040. Currently, 103,000 to 174,000 vehicles — depending on the area — travel the highway each day.

On Monday morning, work will start on the first section, a $90.8-million, two-year project between South Boulevard and Coolidge Highway. It will include "modernization" of the Square Lake Road interchange to replace left-lane ramps with right-lane ramps as well as bridge replacements.

Beginning at 9 a.m., "the right lane of southbound I-75 will be closed continuously from the Square Lake Road interchange to Coolidge Highway to prepare for a future traffic shift. Northbound I-75 will have intermittent single-lane closures from Coolidge Highway to South Boulevard. In addition, single-lane closures will be in place on the northbound and southbound I-75 ramps to westbound Square Lake Road," according to MDOT.

The traffic shift — between Coolidge and Squirrel — will happen in mid-September, when northbound traffic begins traveling on what are currently southbound lanes. Authorities plan to maintain two lanes in each direction during construction, aside from certain closure periods. The 2016 schedule is to include replacement of the northbound I-75 bridges over Adams and Square Lake roads, replacement of the Squirrel Road overpass above I-75 and the rebuilding of northbound I-75 from Coolidge to Square Lake. This work is expected to finish in mid-December.

In 2017, the traffic shift is to flip to the northbound lanes, replacement is planned for the southbound I-75 bridges over Adams and Square Lake roads and the work on the Square Lake interchange is planned.

The first phase section is expected to reopen to traffic in November 2017.

The project, on what Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson has called Oakland County's "main street," has been the subject of controversy because of the widening component. Critics say widening highways is not an effective strategy for dealing with congestion. Nick Schroeck, director of the Transnational Environmental Law Clinic and an associate clinical professor at Wayne State University Law School, has said that more lanes can actually lead to additional traffic, a phenomenon known as induced demand.

But MDOT has defended the widening aspect, saying the extra lane planned in each direction will serve as a High Occupancy Vehicle lane — requiring two or more riders — during rush hour and that 90% of the total cost will be related to reconstruction. The extra lanes, however, will not be in use until completion of the third phase, which is expected to begin in 2020.

Morosi asked for patience, acknowledging that the project will be an inconvenience, but that drivers would see benefits in the end. During the project, Woodward and Telegraph will be the recommended alternate routes. A weekend closure is planned after Labor Day for demolition of the bridge at Squirrel Road.

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