I-75 to Reopen in Detroit in Time for Fourth of July Weekend

DETROIT, June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Area residents joined state and local
officials at a press conference and community celebration today to mark the
early reopening of a 1.5-mile stretch of I-75 near the Detroit-Windsor
international border crossing. The Michigan Department of Transportation
(MDOT) originally scheduled the roadway to reopen in late fall 2009, but crews
finished work five months ahead of schedule, allowing for the July 2
reopening.

The section of I-75 - which runs from Rosa Parks Boulevard to Clark Street in
southwest Detroit - was rebuilt as part of the I-75 Ambassador Bridge Gateway
Project. This $230 million reconstruction effort is designed to improve
efficiency for commercial traffic exiting the Ambassador Bridge, remove truck
traffic from local streets and provide for future traffic needs.

Last week in time for the fireworks in downtown Detroit, the SB M-10 ramp to
EB I-94 and the NB M-10 ramp to WB I-94 were reopened. These ramps were
closed as part of MDOT's strategy to maintain traffic while I-75 was under
construction.

"We are celebrating a major project milestone by reopening I-75 for the
community and for the more than 100,000 vehicles that travel this stretch of
roadway daily," MDOT Region Engineer Tony Kratofil said at the event. "We are
looking forward to the completion of this project, which is now more than 85
percent complete and will contribute to the long-term economic prosperity of
this community, our region and the state."

Kratofil added that MDOT and its contractors have been consistently ahead of
schedule during the project while maintaining the highest quality construction
standards. "Opening early is a major achievement that benefits residents,
businesses and commuters," Kratofil said. "A special thanks to our engineers
and crews for their hard work and to everyone in the community for their
patience. We want to assure the community that MDOT is working hard to bring
all of the Gateway Project's goals to fruition as quickly as possible. This
includes improving neighborhood safety by removing truck traffic from local
streets."

While I-75 will be completely open to traffic in the late afternoon of July 2,
motorists can still expect some intermittent closures within the project area
during off-peak hours (9 p.m. - 5 a.m.) on weekends in July and early August,
including local lane closures on Clark Street. These lane closures will be
announced to the public in advance.

Work on the current phase of the Gateway Project will continue through the end
of this year as work is completed on a number of key ramps and bridges. For
up-to-date information on the Gateway Project, visit the project Web site at
www.michigan.gov/gateway.
MDOT says: Working to improve our state roads and bridges.

SOURCE MDOT

Brenda V. Peek, MDOT Office of Communications, +1-248-483-5109