RELEASE: Gov. Whitmer Announces Orange Barrels Will Be Moved to Ease Fourth of July Holiday Weekend Travel

Gov. Whitmer Announces Orange Barrels Will Be Moved to Ease Fourth of July Holiday Weekend Travel

LANSING, Mich. – Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced that starting Friday afternoon, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is moving orange barrels to the side of the road and removing other lane restrictions and barriers on 100 road and bridge projects statewide to ease traffic delays for holiday travelers.

“Throughout the spring and early summer, we have been moving dirt to fix the damn roads during a historic construction season, but this Fourth of July weekend, we’re moving construction barrels to ease holiday traffic,” said Governor Whitmer. “On Tuesday the hardworking men and women who build our infrastructure will be back at it, fixing our roads and bridges to save drivers time and money. Since I took office through the end of 2022, we will have invested 70% more in our roads than the previous four years to fix over 16,000 lane miles of road and 1,200 bridges, supporting nearly 89,000 jobs. Both my Rebuilding Michigan Plan and the bipartisan Building Michigan Together Plan are helping us build safe, reliable infrastructure that makes a difference for families and small business across the state. I’m proud of what we have accomplished, so let’s keep getting it done this summer.”

Beginning at 3 p.m. Friday, July 1, and continuing until 6 a.m. Tuesday, July 5, 100 out of 162 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. 

AAA Michigan estimates more than 1.7 million Michigan residents are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home during the Fourth of July holiday weekend, a 10 percent increase from last year.

In 2022, Governor Whitmer is making the largest investment in state roads and bridges in Michigan’s history. Since Governor Whitmer took office through the end of 2022, Michigan will have repaired, rebuilt, or replaced 16,000 lane miles of road and over 1,200 bridges, supporting nearly 89,000 jobs. In April, Governor Whitmer signed the Building Michigan Together Plan, a bipartisan plan to invest nearly $5 billion in Michigan’s infrastructure, grow the economy, create jobs, and benefit families in every region of the state. The Building Michigan Together Plan calls for critical investments of $645 million in Michigan’s infrastructure, including $317 million for road and bridge programs, benefitting both state and local projects.

"Summer is definitely in full swing and we expect a lot of folks to be traveling all over the state this Fourth of July weekend," said State Transportation Director Paul C. Ajegba. "With more work happening now than ever thanks to Governor Whitmer's Rebuilding Michigan program, that means more work zones to be aware of. Please, for your safety, your family's safety, and for road workers' safety, slow down, stay alert and avoid distractions in all work zones. You're depending on us to fix the roads and road workers are depending on your safe driving. Let's make sure everyone makes it home each and every night."

MDOT oversees I, M, and US routes and is responsible for nearly 10,000 miles of state highways, which carry more than 50 percent of all traffic and approximately 70 percent of commercial traffic in Michigan. 

For up-to-date information on MDOT projects, view the list of statewide lane closures on the Mi Drive website at www.Michigan.gov/Drive. 

The following is a list of work zones that will remain active or have lane restrictions during Independence Day weekend. If necessary, detour routes will be posted at the project location. 

Upper Peninsula

- M-28 in Munising, Alger County, has two lanes open between Commercial Street and Bay View Street with a traffic shift.

- M-64, Ontonagon County, has one lane open in alternating directions over the Halfway River west of Ontonagon via temporary signals.

- M-183, Delta County, has one lane open in alternating directions via temporary signals at a culvert crossing 2 miles south of US-2.

- US-2 in Bessemer, Gogebic County, has a posted detour in place for eastbound US-2 traffic. 

- US-41 (College Avenue) in Houghton, Houghton County, has a posted detour in place for southbound US-41 traffic. 

- US-41 in Marquette, Marquette County, has two through-lanes and a center left-turn lane open between Blemhuber Avenue and Furnace Street with a traffic shift.

For more information, contact MDOT Superior Region Communications Representative Dan Weingarten at 906-250-4809. Follow the Superior Region on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MDOT_UP.

- M-55, Iosco and Ogemaw counties, will have one lane of alternating traffic with temporary traffic signals on the bridge over the Au Gres River.

For more information, contact MDOT North Region Communications Representative James Lake at 906-250-0993. Follow the North Region on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MDOT_Traverse.

West Michigan

- I-96, Kent County, has one westbound lane open with a traffic shift between Whitneyville Avenue and 36th Street. The following ramps will be closed:

The eastbound I-96 ramp to westbound M-6,
The eastbound M-6 ramp to eastbound I-96, and
The 36th Street ramp to eastbound I-96.

- I-96, Kent County, has the eastbound ramp to southbound US-131 closed with a posted detour. The M-37 (Alpine Avenue) ramp to southbound US-131 is also closed.

- I-196, Kent County, has westbound lanes shifted at the I-196 Business Loop (Chicago Drive) interchange in Grandville. The eastbound I-196 ramp to Chicago Drive is closed, and the Chicago Drive ramp to westbound I-196 is closed.  

- US-31, Allegan County, has the northbound lanes closed at I-196 with traffic detoured to Adams Street (Exit 52). The southbound US-31 ramp to Washington Avenue/Blue Star Highway is closed.   

- US-131 Business Route (19 Mile Road) in Big Rapids is closed between 220th Avenue and Northland Drive. Detour posted.

For more information, contact MDOT Grand Region Communications Representative John Richard at 616-262-1565. Follow the Grand Region on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MDOT_West.

Southwest Michigan

- I-69, Calhoun County, has one lane open in each direction from I-94 to M-78.

- I-94, Berrien County, has two lanes open in each direction with a traffic shift from I-196 to Britain Avenue. The southbound I-196 ramp to eastbound I-94 is closed and detoured.

- I-94, Kalamazoo County, has ramp closures at Portage Road; Portage Road has one lane open in each direction with no left turns at Kilgore Road.

For more information, contact MDOT Southwest Region Communications Representative Nick Schirripa at 269-208-7829. Follow the Southwest Region on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MDOT_Southwest.

- I-69, Genesee County, will have two lanes open in each direction from Hammerberg Road to M-54. Ramps at the I-69/I-475 interchange are closed and detoured.

- M-15 in Davison, Genesee County, will have one northbound lane open from Birth Street to South Street; southbound M-15 is closed and detoured. Clark Street is closed in each direction between Dayton Street and Main Street.

- US-23 Connector, Arenac County, has the eastbound lanes closed; the westbound connector has one lane open. US-23/M-13 through Standish has one lane open in each direction. Lincoln Road is closed over I-75, and Melita Road has one lane open with temporary traffic signals.

For more information, contact MDOT Bay Region Communications Representative Jocelyn Garza at 989-245-7117. Follow the Bay Region on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MDOT_Bay.

Southern Michigan

- I-69, Clinton County, has the following restrictions:

One lane of I-69 is closed in each direction with a traffic shift between I-96 and Airport Road.
The eastbound I-96 ramp to eastbound I-69 is closed.

The Francis Road ramp to eastbound I-69 is closed.
The eastbound I-69 ramp to Airport Road is closed.

- I-69, Eaton and Calhoun counties, has the following restrictions:

One lane of I-69 is closed in each direction with a traffic shift between I-94 and Ainger Road.
One lane of southbound I-69 is closed at M-50.

- I-75, Monroe County, has one lane closed in each direction between Erie Road and Otter Creek Road. - I-75, Monroe County, will have the northbound exit and entrance ramps at Swan Creek Road/Newport Road (Exit 21) closed.

- I-94, Jackson County, has the following restrictions:

The westbound I-94 ramp to Cooper Street is closed.
All ramps at the I-94/Michigan Avenue interchange near Parma are closed.

- M-43 (Grand River Avenue), Ingham County, has one lane closed in each direction from Mohawk Road to Cornell Road. Okemos Road is closed at M-43. 

- M-59, Livingston County, has one eastbound lane closed from Cundy Road to the Oakland County line and one westbound lane closed from the Oakland County line to Clark Road.

- US-24, Monroe County, has one lane closed in each direction with a traffic shift from Townsquare Boulevard to Newburg Road.

- US-127, Ingham County, has one lane closed in each direction from the Jackson County line to M-36.     

- US-127/M-50 (West Avenue), Jackson County, has one northbound lane closed at I-94. The northbound US-127/M-50 (West Avenue) ramp to westbound I-94 is closed and detoured.

For more information, contact MDOT University Region Communications Representative Aaron Jenkins at 517-243-9075. Follow the University Region on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MDOT_LanJxn and www.twitter.com/MDOT_A2.

Metro Detroit

Macomb County 

- M-3 (Gratiot Avenue) has two lanes open in each direction between 12 Mile and 14 Mile roads; the eastbound I-94 ramp to M-3 (Gratiot Avenue) is closed.

- M-59 has two lanes open in each direction between M-97 (Groesbeck Highway) and I-94; the eastbound I-94 ramp to westbound M-59 and the westbound M-59 ramp to westbound I-94 are closed.

Oakland County

- I-75 has two lanes open in each direction between I-696 and 14 Mile Road; the I-696 ramps to northbound I-75 remain closed.

- I-96 has the following restrictions:

I-96 has two westbound lanes open between I-696 and Kent Lake Road.
I-96 has two eastbound lanes open between Kent Lake Road and Wixom Road.
The Kent Lake Road ramp to eastbound I-96 is closed.
The eastbound I-96 entrance and exit ramps at Milford Road are closed.

The eastbound I-96 ramp to Wixom Road is closed.

- M-5 has three northbound lanes open between 13 Mile and 14 Mile roads.

- M-15 (Main Street) will be closed and detoured between Waldon Road and Miller Road for an event 9:30 a.m. - noon July 4.

Wayne County 

- Ann Arbor Road has one lane closed in each direction at Beck Road.

- I-94 will have the following restrictions:

- The Frontenac Street, Burns Street, Cadillac Avenue, M-5 (Grand River Avenue), and Second Avenue bridges are all closed over I-94.

- I-275 has two lanes open in each direction between I-94 and M-14/I-96.

- M-3 (Gratiot Avenue) will have two northbound lanes open between Randolph/Broadway Street and St. Antoine Street.

- M-8 will have one lane open in each direction between John R Road and Goddard Street. Dequindre Street will have one lane open in each direction over M-8.

- M-85 (Fort Street) will have one lane open in each direction at Woodmere Street.

- M-85 (Fort Street) has one lane open in each direction under I-75.

- M-153 (Ford Road) has two westbound lanes and one eastbound lane open between US-24 and M-39. Southbound Hines Drive is closed at M-153.

- US-24 (Telegraph Road) has two lanes open in each direction between I-94 and US-12.

For more information, contact MDOT Metro Region Communications Representative Diane Cross at 248-752-0336. Follow the Metro Region on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MDOT_MetroDet.