The state is advancing plans to replace the outdated Interstate 375 freeway in Detroit with an “urban boulevard” to attract new development and make adjacent areas more accessible, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Wednesday.
The design phase will begin this spring and follows a review by the Michigan Department of Transportation that found there was no significant environmental impact for the project at the site that decimated prominent Black neighborhoods when it was built in the early 1960s.
Related: A freeway ripped the heart out of Black life in Detroit. Now Michigan wants to tear it down.
The Democratic governor, who took office in 2019, noted her administration’s investment of $4.75 billion in fixing up 13,000 miles of roadway and 900 bridges. As the work continues, she said, “we must take a closer look at the unjust legacy of so many of our freeways.”
“This includes I-375, which paved through two prosperous Black neighborhoods decades ago, displacing 130,000 people, hundreds of small businesses, churches, and more,” Whitmer said in a statement. “Now, we must build up our state’s infrastructure with equity at the core.
“While we cannot change the past, we must work harder to build a more just future, and that starts with listening to and engaging with the community, and taking deliberate steps to get this done right,” Whitmer said.
I-375 was built more than 50 years ago. During construction, the prominent Black neighborhoods of Black Bottom and Paradise Valley were demolished to make way for the four-lane sunken freeway.
Constructed through a thriving Hasting Street, I-375 opened in 1964 and created a barrier between the central business district in Detroit and the neighborhoods to the east. It resulted in decades of underinvestment and a lack of opportunity for the predominantly Black communities on the other side of the freeway.
“As development has pushed east from downtown and west from Lafayette Park, the barrier that I-375 represents in our city has become even more apparent,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said. “Removing the freeway ditch and replacing it with a street-level boulevard will unlock enormous development opportunities.”
The equity of who participates in the development opportunities from the upcoming project, Duggan said, “will be just as important as how the new boulevard ultimately will look.”
The milestone in the project comes after years of working through issues and concerns from community members, noted MDOT Director Paul C. Ajegba.
State Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, said she is hopeful that the community engagement process associated with the project will uplift the needs and desires of the community. The Lafayette Park resident said part of the focus should be on connectivity, sustainability and green space, not commercial or residential development that is “out of reach financially” for many Detroiters.
Extensive research began in 2014 to identify alternatives for the corridor including cost-effective transportation. The final design will be drafted with input from a community advisory committee.
The street-level boulevard is proposed to begin south of the I-75 interchange and continue to the Detroit River and provide connections to the riverfront, Eastern Market and Brush Park as well as create a new local connector street from Eastern Market to Gratiot Avenue.
Your article didn’t mention specifically how much that project will cost you talked about the overall State funding but not this specific project could you please let us know how much this is going to cost
Looking at the plan, there are going to be up to 9 lanes of car traffic. How exactly do they think that is going to bring together east and downtown? Who is gong to want to walk or bike across that?? Might as well just leave the freeway and save the money.
I agree with you David. Also, I’m not convinced that this plan is about repairing the damage of destroying a thriving black neighborhood. It seems more of a connector to the Riverwalk than anything else. It would be quite expensive to build new housing there. But this plan should reflect a reparation of what was destroyed, modernized of course.
Yes! I agree that MDOT should just forget about the replacement and just leave 375 the way it is. And I saw a video on it. The existing freeway has direct access to Madison Avenue and on the stupid boulevard, you will have to turn right on Gratiot to get to Madison.
Would be an ideal time to incorporate some form of public transportation. i.e. light rail or even subway…
Everyone who was displaced was given housing/money/relocated when this happened. If you don’t believe me look it up!! What a disingenuous article. Also, to say its out of date is ridiculous, the concrete used on I-375 was the same grade as used on airport runways and is in excellent condition. This will also create a huge backup on I-75 going through downtown. Total waste of money and if you ask me it looks like some more good old boy money being funneled through corrupt contractors back into the politicians pockets.