By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


The Michigan Department of Transportation has issued weekend travel advisories and closures as part of the I-96 Flex Route project.

Beginning 8pm Friday, westbound I-96 will have one lane open from I-275 to Kent Lake Road through 5am Monday for drainage work, pavement repair work, shoulder paving, and bridge work. There will also be short-term intermittent ramp closures.

MDOT advises that work will continue weekdays with daily single-lane closures through late May on westbound I-96 from I-275 to Kent Lake Road from 6am to 3pm and on eastbound I-96 from Kent Lake Road to I-275 from 9am to 3pm.

Motorists should also be prepared for a lengthy bridge closure starting up in a couple weeks. South Hill Road will be closing over I-96 for a month for bridge repair work beginning at 7am Monday, April 11th, weather permitting, through 5pm Monday, May 9th.

South Hill Road detours:

Northbound South Hill Road: westbound Grand River Avenue to northbound Milford Road, then eastbound Pontiac Trail to South Hill Road.

Southbound South Hill Road: westbound Pontiac Trail to southbound Milford Road, then eastbound Grand River Avenue to South Hill Road.

The I-96 Flex Route project includes rebuilding the freeway, rebuilding the median shoulders for use during peak periods, sign upgrades, and active traffic management installation, including intelligent transportation systems (ITS) equipment, overhead gantry installation and ramp signals for metering traffic onto the freeway.

Electronic message boards will alert drivers with speed advisories and travel information.

Details on the three-year project are available in the provided link.