MDOT lane restrictions for Memorial Day Weekend

Beginning at 3 p.m. on Friday, May 22, and continuing until 6 a.m. on Tuesday, May 26, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is suspending road work wherever possible.

Nearly 70 percent of MDOT's active construction projects will have lanes opened or restrictions removed in anticipation of the estimated 1.1 million motorists who will travel Michigan roads this holiday weekend.

"With more people predicted to travel on Michigan highways this Memorial Day weekend, motorists are advised to drive with caution for their own protection - even if workers are not present," said MDOT Director Kirk T. Steudle. "We encourage families to allow extra time to arrive safely at their destinations as they take to the roadways this weekend."

To help make this Memorial Day weekend a safe and enjoyable kick-off for summer travel, motorists also are advised to obey the posted speed limits, drive with caution, and to pay close attention to road signs and orange barrels as they navigate construction zones.

Since 2006, highway construction zone speed-limit signs with "Where Workers Present 45" have required motorists to reduce their speed to 45 mph where workers are present. Motorists can maintain the posted speed limit, except when in the vicinity of workers. This change helped reduce the number of work zone crashes, injuries and fatalities last year, while improving traffic flow in those areas.

To promote safe and responsible driving, the annual effort to mobilize deputies and officers from sheriff departments and local police agencies will be in full swing across the state. Motorists who ignore safety belt laws can expect to be stopped and ticketed. So please buckle up. The life you save may be your own  or the life of someone you love!

Holiday travelers who are eager to get out and enjoy the beauty of summer might consider travel along some of the most historic and scenic thoroughfares in the country  The Michigan Highways  Heritage Routes. A perfect example is the M-15 Heritage Route, which extends almost 90 miles from Ortonville at its north junction to downtown Bay City at its south junction. There are many pleasant surprises to be found on M-15, Michigan's first recreational heritage route. M-15 offers "86 miles of smiles" and is a picturesque gateway to the north for the more adventurous traveler. For more information about Michigan's scenic, historic and recreational routes visit the Michigan Highways Web site at www.MichiganHighways.org.

As always, before planning your route, MDOT advises motorists to check the MI Drive Web site. Click the "MDOT Halts Most Work for Holiday" notice on the Web site at www.michigan.gov/drive for holiday travel information. 

Following is a list of the 97 work zones that will remain active, or have some lane restrictions, during the Memorial Day weekend. If necessary, detour routes will be posted at the project location.

Upper Peninsula

- US-2 in Iron Mountain, Dickinson County, will have lane reductions and a traffic shift.

- M-94 north of Manistique, Schoolcraft County, will have a temporary traffic signal at the Indian River bridge.

- US-41/Shelden Avenue in downtown Houghton, Houghton County, will be closed to through- traffic. Northbound US-41 traffic will be detoured to Montezuma Avenue. Southbound US-41 traffic will be detoured on M-26, Sharon Avenue, and MacInnes Drive.

- US-2 Cut River Bridge, Mackinac County, will remain closed with traffic detoured on Cut River Road and Prater Boulevard.

For more information, contact James Lake, Superior Region Communications Representative, at 906-786-1830, ext. 323.

Northern Lower Peninsula

- M-115, Clare County line to M-61, Osceola County, will have temporary traffic signals at two locations.

- M-115, M-66 to M-61, Osceola County, will have a detour in effect.

- US-131 Business Route (BR)/Mitchell Street, downtown Cadillac, Wexford County, a single lane in each direction will remain open between Granite and Cass streets.

- M-22 bridge over Glen Lake (narrows) in Leelanau County has a detour in place.

- I-75 Business Loop (BL), M-72 east (Huron Street) to M-72 west/M-93, Grayling, Crawford County: Northbound I-75 BL traffic will be detoured onto local streets. One lane of southbound traffic is maintained on the I-75 BL. 

- US-23 in Cheboygan, Cheboygan County, will be open to traffic during the holiday weekend, while M-27 will remain closed and detoured from Lincoln Street to the US-23 south intersection.

For more information, contact Bob Felt, North Region Communications Representative, at 989-731-5090.

West Michigan

- M-104 at 144th Avenue, Ottawa County, will have a traffic shift in effect for eastbound and westbound traffic on M-104; 144th Avenue is closed with a posted detour.

- US-31 at Tyler Road, Muskegon County, will be reduced to one lane, with traffic control via temporary signal.

- US-131 at 44th Street, Kent County, will have two lanes open on northbound and southbound lanes. The southbound US-131 exit ramp (Exit 79) at 44th Street is closed. Detour: exit at 36th Street (Exit 80) to Burlingame or Division Avenues to 44th Street. The northbound US-131 entrance ramp from 44th Street is closed. Detour: 44th Street to Division or Burlingame Avenues to the US-131 interchange at 36th Street. There will be no work on 44th Street during the holiday weekend.     

- I-196 Zeeland Rest Area, Ottawa County, is closed but will reopen to customers by 3 p.m. Friday, May 22, without restrictions.

- I-196 Baldwin Interchange, Kent County, will have a traffic shift in effect with two lanes open westbound and one lane open eastbound.

- I-196 between Kenowa and M-11 (28th Street), Kent County, will be reduced to two lanes westbound with one lane open eastbound. The following ramps will be closed:
- ramp from westbound Chicago Drive to westbound I-196
- ramp from eastbound Chicago Drive to eastbound I-196
- ramp from eastbound 44th Street to eastbound I-196

- M-91 in Greenville, Montcalm County, will have a traffic shift in place on M-91 from Van Deinse Road to Wise Road. Northbound and southbound M-91 will be reduced to one lane each. Width restriction: nothing over 10 feet.

For more information, contact John Richard, Grand Region Communications Representative, at 616-451-4063.

Southwest Michigan

- Eastbound I-94 over Riverside Drive in Battle Creek, Calhoun County, is closed due to emergency bridge repair. Crews are working to reopen as soon as possible. Westbound I-94 over Riverside Drive is open.

- I-94 BL through downtown Benton Harbor, Berrien County, will be reduced to one lane westbound with eastbound traffic detoured.

- I-94 from Mile Marker 4 to Mile Marker 10, Berrien County, will be reduced to two lanes in each direction with median lanes closed. Open lanes will be shifted eight feet towards the outside shoulders.

- M-51 over McKinzie Creek, north of Niles, Cass County, will be reduced to one lane of alternating traffic with maintenance via temporary traffic signals.

- US-31 southbound from US-12 to the Michigan/Indiana state line, Berrien County,  will have both lanes open with traffic shifted eight feet towards the outside shoulder.

- M-89 over Kalamazoo River in the city of Allegan, Allegan County, will be open with traffic maintained using a traffic shift.

- M-89 over I-196, near Fennville, Allegan County, will be reduced to one lane in each direction with traffic maintained via temporary signal.

- M-222 over Kalamazoo River in the city of Allegan, Allegan County, will be open with traffic maintained using a traffic shift.

- M-66, from US-12 to Memorial Drive in the city of Sturgis, St. Joseph County, will be open with traffic maintained using a traffic shift.

FFor more information, contact Nick Schirripa, Southwest Region Communications Representative, at 269-337-3927.

Central Michigan and Thumb

- M-25 (Center Avenue) from Johnson Street to Livingston Avenue in Bay City, Bay County, will have eastbound and westbound truck traffic rerouted via M-84, Kosciuszko Avenue, and Pine Road. Eastbound and westbound car traffic will be rerouted via M-84, Kosciuszko Avenue and Scheurmann Road.

- M-21 over I-75, Genesee County, will remain closed with traffic detoured. All lanes on I-75 beneath M-21 are open to traffic.

- The I-69 Swartz Creek Rest Area, Genesee County, will remain closed. All lanes on I-69 will be open to traffic.

- US-127 BR (Mission Street), south end of the city of Clare at Industrial Drive, Isabella County: a detour remains in effect for the south Clare ramps to and from US-127 with Old Mission Road local traffic maintained using a temporary signal.

For more information, contact Anita Richardson, Bay Region Communications Representative, at 989-754-0878, ext. 227.

Southern Mid-Michigan

Note: There will be single-lane closures in both directions on US-127 north of I-96. Motorists should expect back-ups and drive with caution. Lansing traffic headed to the west side of the state is encouraged to take I-96 to I-69 back to US-127 as an alternative route.

- US-127 between I-96 and Trowbridge Road, Ingham County, will have one lane open in each direction. unckel Road over US-127 is closed with a detour posted. The following ramps will be closed or have restrictions in place:
      - ramp from southbound US-127 to eastbound I-96, one lane partially open
      - ramp from Howard Street to southbound US-127 will be closed

- Farm Lane on the campus of Michigan State University, north of Mt. Hope Road, will be closed with a detour posted.

- I-96 between US-23 and the Livingston/Oakland county line will have three lanes maintained in each direction with a traffic shift. Also, Kensington Road over I-96 is closed with a detour posted.

- I-75 at Sterns Road in Monroe County will have two lanes open in each direction. Also, Sterns Road over I-75 is closed with a detour posted.

- M-49 in Litchfield, Hillsdale County, is closed through the downtown area with a detour posted.

- M-49 in Reading, Hillsdale County, has southbound traffic detoured around the downtown area. Northbound M-49 traffic is being maintained.

FFor more information, contact Kari Arend, University Region Communications Representative, at 517-750-0406.

Metro Detroit Region
City of Detroit

- Northbound and southbound I-75 remains closed between Clark Street (Exit 47A) and the I-96 split (Exit 48) in southwest Detroit. Posted detour is northbound I-275 to eastbound I-94 back to northbound I-75. The left lane of southbound I-75 remains closed from M-3 to the I-96 split. The following ramps are closed with posted detours:
      - ramps from southbound M-10 to eastbound I-94
      - ramps from northbound M-10 to westbound I-94

- The eastbound and westbound M-102 (Eight Mile Road) service drive bridges are closed over M-10.

-- Detours are posted for access to northbound and southbound M-10 entrance ramps.

Oakland County

- The eastbound I-96 connector ramp to eastbound I-696 in Novi is closed. Traffic is directed onto southbound M-5 back to eastbound I-696.  In conjunction, the following ramps are closed:
      - north and southbound Novi Road entrance ramps to eastbound I-96

- Eastbound and westbound I-696 will have three lanes open with traffic shifted between Middlebelt Road and I-275 for bridge work. The Halsted Road overpass above I-696 remains closed. 

St. Clair County

- Eastbound and westbound I-94 will have one lane open with all traffic shifted to westbound lanes between 26 Mile Road and St. Clair Highway.

- The Richmond Rest Area along westbound I-94 and the Adair Rest Area off eastbound I-94 are closed.

-- Eastbound and westbound I-69 will have one lane open with all traffic shifted to westbound lanes between Miller Road and the St. Clair/Lapeer county line. The Capac Road overpass above I-69 will have a single lane open with traffic control via a temporary signal. 

Macomb County

- Two lanes are maintained on northbound and southbound M-53 (Van Dyke Freeway) between 18 Mile Road and 27 Mile Road via traffic shifts. The 26 Mile Road overpass above M-53 is closed and detoured.

- The eastbound and westbound I-696 exit ramps to Mound Road are closed. Northbound and southbound Mound Road over I-696 is closed for ongoing bridge work. Detours are posted.

Wayne County

- Northbound I-75 will have one lane open; southbound I-75 has two lanes open between South Huron River Drive (Exit 26) and Gibraltar Road (Exit 29). The Woodruff Road overpass above I-75 is closed. The following ramps are closed with traffic detoured:
      - southbound I-75 exit ramp to South Huron River Drive
      - southbound I-75 exit ramp to Gibraltar Road
      - North Huron River Drive entrance ramp to southbound I-75 

In addition, southbound M-85 (Fort Street) is closed from Gibraltar Road to I-75.

- The left lane of northbound I-275 is closed from Ann Arbor Road to Six Mile Road. 

- Eastbound and westbound US-12 (Michigan Avenue) has two lanes open over the Rouge River Bridge in Dearborn for bridge work. The following ramps are closed with traffic detoured:
      - Eastbound US-12 entrance ramp to southbound M-39 (Southfield Freeway)
      - Eastbound US-12 exit to northbound Evergreen Road

- A single lane is closed on northbound and southbound US-24 (Telegraph Road) between Ann Arbor Trail and Warren Avenue in Dearborn Heights.

- The following ramps are closed in Dearborn for ongoing interchange repair:
    - ramps from eastbound M-153 (Ford Road) to Evergreen Road
    - ramp from southbound Evergreen Road to eastbound M-153

For more information, contact Robert Morosi, Metro Region Communications Representative, at 248-483-5127.

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