Residents who struggled to work through concerns about the I-375 redesign project with state officials are now asking Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan to step in and pause the process.
A petition with nearly 500 signatures from Detroiters, Wayne County residents, and business and nonprofit representatives was sent Wednesday by the ReThink I-375 Community Coalition. It expresses opposition to the Michigan Department of Transportation’s proposal for replacing the underground freeway with a street-level boulevard, criticizes the public engagement efforts and demands clarity on unanswered questions.
“Community feedback has not been taken seriously by MDOT to date, and it is time for the process to be fixed,” the petition reads. “We appreciate and welcome the opportunity to repair and improve Detroit infrastructure, but as eastside Detroit residents – who use these streets and sidewalks daily – we are telling you that aspects of the current plan are not improvements at all.”
Spokespersons for Duggan and Whitmer declined to comment, referring questions about the project to MDOT.
“In the last year MDOT has held more than 50 engagement sessions to collect input from the community,” MDOT Communications Specialist Jocelyn Garza said in a statement. “Those meetings include our local advisory committee, government advisory committee, public meetings, and stakeholder groups. When the public said they were concerned with the safety of a nine-lane boulevard, we listened, collected and reviewed new traffic counts, and modified the size of the road.”
Related:
- Detroiters petition to halt I-375 design until concerns are addressed
- Some Detroiters say I-375 design ignored them, call for a restart
- City memo details effects of urban renewal and I-375 on Detroiters
- MDOT’s I-375 project faces design and diversity challenges
The $300 million project aims to convert the 1-mile-long freeway into a six-lane street with a reduced speed limit, new bike lanes and large pedestrian sidewalks. MDOT planning documents cite structural issues with freeway bridges and safety issues with a tight curve into downtown.
The project includes a new interchange with I-75 and redesigned intersections to better connect Eastern Market, neighborhoods on the lower east side, the Detroit riverfront and downtown.
MDOT’s project will also open up roughly 30 acres of “excess” land formerly taken up by the freeway. The new real estate will be transferred to the city of Detroit, which is starting a framework planning process to determine land use policies.
The Kresge Foundation is working with the city and community stakeholders to discuss how to honor the legacy of Black Bottom and Paradise Valley, majority-black spaces that were dismantled by urban renewal projects and culminated with I-375’s construction.
MDOT highlighted its work with the city of Detroit, Downtown Detroit Partnership and Kresge Foundation to collaborate on land use plans, construction mitigation and host reparative roundtable discussions on Black Bottom and Paradise Valley.
Melanie Markowicz, executive director of the Greektown Neighborhood Partnership, said there are too many unknowns associated with the project.
“We tried to work on this with MDOT behind closed doors,” Markowicz said. “Everything we talked about has not been addressed in a real way. We’re left with being really public about this. We think there’s a better way.”
She hasn’t heard a clear plan from MDOT or the city on how to mitigate the impacts of a multi-year construction process, including access to patron-based businesses downtown and logistics companies in Eastern Market. The project has a potential to severely hurt the business of multigenerational Greektown establishments, she said.
“Whenever I-375 has been closed for construction or milling projects we have tracked business losses,” Markowicz said.
Land use plans are coming too late, she said, and desires for a restorative justice component of the project to recognize former Black Bottom residents haven’t materialized so far. Markowicz said residents have broad concerns about safety and connectivity to residential areas.
“The process has not been straightforward, not a clear vision,” she said. “The response to those comments was essentially kicking it down the road. We feel pretty distressed with the path this project is taking.
“What are we risking for a project that is subpar?”
Petition signers represent several other prominent businesses, restaurants and groups, including the Atheneum Hotel, Backbone Hospitality, The Old Shillelagh, Pegasus Tavern and Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral.
Lafayette Park resident Olga Stella is a lead organizer with the ReThink I-375 Community Coalition. She hopes the petition will result in a commitment to slow things down and create better partnerships with Detroiters who have struggled to stay informed about the project.
“What we’re hoping is that the decision-makers driving this project will recognize that the concerns are from more than the select few and they will take our concerns seriously about reforming the process for how the I-375 project will move forward,” Stella said. “We are looking for assurances that concerns will be addressed before the project starts construction and road design.”
Construction is expected to start next fall and end in 2028.
“There’s only 18 months left before construction starts and while that may feel like enough time, for a project of this complexity, that is not enough time,” Stella said.
MDOT officials said the design is only 30% complete, and residents will have the ability to suggest changes into 2026. However, the state is committed to creating a ground-level boulevard.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is supplying roughly a third of the funding through a $105 million grant announced in 2022.
During an April public meeting, MDOT officials said they’ve heard consistent concerns about the number of lanes and the lack of clarity on how construction will impact local businesses. MDOT planning documents show there is limited ability to prevent construction noise, but the state will create plans for traffic management, vibration monitoring and other construction impacts.
MDOT released a new design concept in April that reduces the number of lanes from nine to six. The proposal was based on a review of traffic data that found peak volumes on I-375 dropped 20% since the previous study in 2017.
East side resident Ted Tansley, who signed the petition, said he’s still worried about the potential for fatal crashes at intersections. Detroit is one of the most dangerous cities for pedestrians, he noted, in part because of the city’s wide streets.
“I think at the end of the day, they need to be able to say ‘we are putting this in and no one will die because of it,’” Tansley said. “That might be an extreme position to hold, but I don’t think it’s extreme to have that expectation for something that has the goal of connecting our communities. We need physical design that constricts driver movement, or we’re gonna just continue to see a plethora of crashes.”
The state is working with a progressive design firm to improve stakeholder engagement and the Downtown Detroit Partnership to create an economic analysis and construction mitigation plan.
MDOT Senior Project Manager Jon Loree has said the progressive design process allows for more flexibility in planning. Loree said this will help MDOT address construction impacts on local business throughout the multi-year build phase.
MDOT officials previously told BridgeDetroit that public engagement is ongoing. Detroiters will be able to suggest changes to the design once the initial construction phase starts next year, according to MDOT.
The freeway turns 60 years old in June. MDOT officials said the infrastructure is deteriorating and requires expensive repairs and maintenance.
“This may look like another infrastructure project but it’s not, it’s transformative and triggering, empirical and emotional, culturally significant and sociologically relevant,” Leslie Love, assistant deputy director for MDOT’s metro region, said during an April 29 public meeting. “It’s very different than a lot of our other projects.”
Residents can stay informed by subscribing to an email list. MDOT is collecting comments online and at MDOT-I-375Corridor@Michigan.gov.
Furthermore, advanced security measures can significantly enhance the safety of your parked vehicle. Consider installing a GPS tracking device or a car immobilizer system, which can help locate your vehicle in the event of theft and prevent it from being started without proper authorization. These technological solutions provide added peace of mind and act as powerful deterrents against theft.
Hi Malachi! Thanks for shedding some light on this issue. I’m a Detroit resident and I go to Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral. There was a meeting yesterday with the Local Advisory Committee, and I think the publicity you gave this actually resulted in some design changes related to the Coalition’s concerns. However there are still some worrying elements of the plan that are advancing rapidly. Let me know if you’re interested in what was presented, I’d be happy to share.