Monday is when we’re supposed to hear more from the Michigan Department of Transportation about what the repair plan is for the Ann Arbor Railroad bridge over U.S. 23 — and how long it will take.
MDOT’s MI Drive app and website had, as of Friday, a sobering date for reopening: April 30.
I certainly hope that’s just a placeholder in a data field rather than an actual estimate, and if true would certainly conflict with an MDOT spokesman’s early prediction that this would not be a long-term closing.
But even for only a few weeks, it’s a major headache.
MDOT shut down freeway traffic under the bridge Sept. 10 after a bridge inspector working for the railroad did a follow-up inspection three weeks after an over-height truck hit the structure. The impact broke off part of the bottom flange on one of the bridge’s two structural steel beams.
Trains have continued to use the bridge, albeit at very slow speeds to minimize loading, and the Ann Arbor only runs a few trains per day.
The closing has caused major traffic delays, particularly in Milan but also in Dundee.
U.S. 23 has no direct parallel route suitable for trucks, so the recommended detour meanders along several local roads east of the freeway.
And while the ramp from northbound I-275 to westbound I-94 that was supposed to close for construction midweek last week remained open as of Saturday, the I-275 single-lane zone north of Carleton makes getting to that ramp rather unpleasant.
There is one good bit of news for motorists headed to Jackson, Lansing, Kalamazoo or other places: A resurfacing project on U.S. 223 near Adrian is scheduled for completion Friday, which will make U.S. 223 to U.S. 127 just a little faster as the obvious way to go there.
But for commuters, students, hospital patients, or others traveling between Toledo and Ann Arbor, I really have no advice other than do as much as you can from home for however long it takes for this mess to get cleared up. And, of course, that’s not an option for people with University of Michigan football tickets.
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Several ramps that closed recently for reconstruction as part of the I-75 project in Toledo appear nearly ready to reopen, although the one scheduled to reopen first will not be done on time.
The northbound I-75 entrance from Wales Road in Northwood, the northbound ramps at South Avenue, and the Collingwood Boulevard exit from the inbound Anthony Wayne Trail all had paving under way last week. But the Wales ramp still had a lot of work to do, so its “mid-September” target will be missed barring divine intervention. The others are due to reopen by month’s end and that seems makeable.
Pavement repairs, meanwhile, will disrupt traffic on the southbound I-75 side of that freeway’s Ohio Turnpike/State Rt. 795 interchange this week.
On both Monday and Tuesday, the turnpike entrance to southbound I-75 will be closed from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., with traffic detoured north on I-75 to the Buck Road interchange.
On both Wednesday and Thursday, the southbound collector lane will be closed, with all turnpike ramps open but blocking access from southbound I-75 to State Rt. 795. No detour was announced, but the best option to get to Route 795 will be to exit at Buck Road, turn right, and go south on Lime City Road.
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An item in the Las Vegas Review-Journal about a bridge-replacement project just east of the Arizona border on I-15 caught my eye because of a restriction on over-width or overweight vehicles.
For the next two years, any vehicle more than 10 feet wide or weighing more than 129,000 pounds will endure a 224-mile detour. Take that, U.S. 23!
I-75: Reduced to two lanes each way between Buck Road in Rossford and Dorr Street in Toledo for reconstruction and widening. All four ramps at the Anthony Wayne Trail (State Rt. 25) interchange are closed, as are the northbound ramps at South Avenue and the northbound entrance at Wales. Ramp detours, some quite long, are posted and additional closings are possible at night and on weekends. The Trail is reduced to one lane inbound between City Park Avenue and I-75 and outbound between Lafayette Street and City Park. Its inbound exit to Collingwood is closed, with a detour posted via Erie Street.
I-280: Reduced to two lanes each way, with no shoulders, across the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway for deck resurfacing until later this year. A second lane may be closed at night. The Manhattan entrance and Greenbelt ramps, and Front Street exit on southbound I-280 and the northbound ramps at Front and exit to Greenbelt will be closed nightly through Sunday morning from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
I-280: Nighttime lane closings possible between the State Rt. 2 and Woodville/Curtice interchanges for microsurfacing on the curve near Pickle Road into October. Ramps at those interchanges may also be closed.
I-475: Nighttime multiple-lane closings between I-75 and Douglas Road for bridge deck sealing, and single-lane closings at Secor Road. Work begins at 9 p.m. and ends by 6 a.m. on weekday mornings and 9 a.m. on weekend mornings.
I-475/U.S. 23: Nighttime (8 p.m. to 6 a.m.) lane closings possible between Holland-Sylvania and Central, at the Ottawa River east of Holland-Sylvania, and on U.S. 23 over Sylvania Avenue for bridge deck sealing. The ramps from westbound I-475 to northbound U.S. 23 and from southbound U.S. 23 to eastbound I-475 will both be closed Friday and Saturday nights at 9 p.m. until 9 a.m. the next day. Micro-surfacing work on curves within the I-475/U.S. 23 split requires lane closings into October.
U.S. 23 (Ohio): Shoulders closed and lane closings possible during noise wall installation between I-475 and Monroe Street in Sylvania.
U.S. 24 (Detroit Ave.): Lane closings on Detroit, Cherry, and Berdan near their intersection for modification of the roundabout. Cherry has reopened between Detroit and Manhattan Boulevard.
Summit Street: Lane closings between 101st and 130th in Point Place for resurfacing.
Ohio Turnpike: One lane each way west of the Bryan interchange for reconstruction. Long delays are possible, especially Fridays and Sundays. Use State Rt. 15/U.S. 20A and U.S. 20 instead. The Indiana Toll Road also has several long, slow work zones between I-69 and Elkhart.
I-75 (Mich.): Ramps are closed at Exit 11 (LaPlaisance Road) during bridge and interchange reconstruction. Mainline lane closings possible.
I-275 (Mich.): Two of three lanes closed for repair in both directions between Carleton and I-94, affecting the main route between Toledo and Detroit Metropolitan-Wayne County Airport. The northbound I-275 ramp to westbound I-94 may close this week, with a detour east on I-94 to the Vining Road interchange.
U.S. 6: Closed for reconstruction between Ridgeville Corners and the Henry-Williams county line through September. Detour via State Rts. 34 and 191 or State Rt. 66 South and U.S. 24. Closed for a bridge replacement between Sandusky County Road 232 and Riley Township Road 240, east of the Ohio Turnpike, until early October. Detour via U.S. 20 and State Rts. 412 and 510.
U.S. 23: Closed between Dundee and Milan, Mich., for emergency overpass work north of the Cone Road interchange. A detour has been established using M-50 and Ann Arbor, Ostrander, and Plank roads northbound and Plank, Ostrander, Ann Arbor, and Cone roads southbound. Avoid this route if at all possible. For Jackson, Lansing, and other points to the west and northwest, use U.S. 223 to U.S. 127.
U.S. 24: Lane closings for resurfacing between State Rt. 66 and Baltimore Street west of Defiance.
U.S. 223: Single-lane, alternating traffic for a resurfacing project between M-52 and Ogden Highway near Adrian through Friday.
U.S. 224: Resurfacing requires flag zones east of Findlay to the Hancock-Seneca County line.
First Published September 19, 2021, 8:40 p.m.
