Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


With summer travel in full swing heading into the Independence Day holiday weekend, MDOT is removing lane restrictions on 61% of its road and bridge projects statewide to ease traffic delays for holiday travelers.

AAA estimates more than 2.6 million Michiganders are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home during the Independence Day holiday weekend, up 3% from last year - a new record.

Beginning at 3pm Thursday and continuing until 6am Monday, 110 out of 179 projects statewide will have lane restrictions removed.

While motorists will see suspended operations in most MDOT work zones for the weekend, drivers are advised that equipment and certain traffic configurations may remain in place, like temporary shifts or shoulder closures.

State Transportation Director Bradley C. Wieferich "So much needed road and bridge work continues across Michigan, including projects made possible by Gov. Whitmer's Rebuilding Michigan program and the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The men and women of MDOT know how frustrating work zones can be; we drive the same roads as everyone else. Road workers and the ones you love are all counting on you to drive safely through those work zones so everyone makes it home every night. While we've been able to pull back the barrels as much as possible on state road projects for this record holiday weekend, some work zones require all the barrels to remain in place for safety reasons."

Director Wieferich also reminds the public that MDOT is not sending text messages to anyone demanding toll payments. "This is a scam. MDOT does not operate any toll roads; messages should be ignored and deleted immediately. Anyone who has tried sending payment information to these messages should contact their financial institution immediately".

A list of work zones that will remain active or have lane restrictions during the holiday weekend is provided in the top link.

For the most up-to-date information on MDOT projects, visit the Mi Drive website via the bottom link.