Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox road Interstate 696 (I-696) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Metro Detroit region of the US state of Michigan. The state trunkline highway is also known as the Walter P. Reuther Freeway, named for the prominent auto industry union head by the Michigan Legislature in 1971. I-696 is a bypass route, detouring around the city of Detroit through the city's northern suburbs in Oakland and Macomb counties. It starts by branching off I-96 and I-275 at its western terminus in Farmington Hills, and runs through suburbs including Southfield, Royal Oak and Warren before merging into I-94 at St. Clair Shores on the east end. It has eight lanes for most of its length and is approximately Template:Convert north of downtown Detroit. I-696 connects to other freeways such as I-75 (Chrysler Freeway) and M-10 (Lodge Freeway). Local residents sometimes refer to I-696 as "The Autobahn of Detroit".
Planning for the freeway started in the 1950s. Michigan state officials proposed the designation I-98, but this was not approved. Construction started on the first segment in 1961, and the Lodge Freeway was designated Business Spur Interstate 696 (BS I-696) the following year. The western third of the freeway opened in 1963, and the eastern third was completed in January 1979. The central segment was the subject of much controversy during the 1960s and 1970s. Various municipalities along this stretch argued over the routing of the freeway such that the governor locked several officials into a room overnight until they would agree to a routing. Later, various groups used federal environmental regulations to force changes to the freeway. The Orthodox Jewish community in Oak Park was concerned about pedestrian access across the freeway; I-696 was built with a set of parks on overpasses to accommodate their needs. The Detroit Zoo and the City of Detroit also fought components of the freeway design. These concessions delayed the completion of I-696 until December 15, 1989. Since completion, the speed limit was raised from Template:Convert. In addition, some interchanges were reconfigured in 2006.
Route descriptionEdit
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I-696, which has been called "Detroit's Autobahn" by some residents,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> reflecting a reputation for fast drivers,<ref name=helms/> begins in the west in the city of Novi as a left exit branching off I-96. This ramp is a portion of the I-96/I-696/I-275/M-5 interchange that spans the north–south, Novi–Farmington Hills city line linking together five converging freeways. The freeway curves southeasterly and then northeasterly through the complex as it runs eastward through the adjacent residential subdivisions. I-696 passes south of 12 Mile Road in the Mile Road System through Farmington Hills, passing south of Harrison High School and north of Mercy High School. After crossing into Southfield, I-696 passes through the Mixing Bowl,<ref name=MITA>Template:Cite news</ref> another complex interchange that spans over Template:Convert near the American Center involving M-10 (Lodge Freeway and Northwestern Highway) and US Highway 24 (US 24, Telegraph Road) between two partial interchanges with Franklin Road on the west and Lahser Road on the east. The carriageways for I-696 run in the median of M-10 from northwest to southeast.<ref name=MDOT12/><ref name=google/> East of this interchange, cargo restrictions have been enacted for the next Template:Convert segment of I-696; no commercial vehicles may carry flammable or explosive loads;<ref name=cargo/> the segment passes below grade and between retaining walls that are Template:Convert tall, which would hinder evacuation in the event of a fire. During construction in April 1989, vandals set a fire under one of the plazas, and officials were concerned about the intensity of the fire and the potential for a "horizontal towering inferno" along the freeway section once opened to traffic.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
After passing through the Mixing Bowl, I-696 follows 11 Mile Road, which forms a pair of service drives for the main freeway. The Interstate passes through the city of Lathrup Village before turning southward and then easterly on an S-shaped path to run along 10 Mile Road.<ref name=MDOT12/><ref name=google/> This segment of freeway is known for its extensive use of retaining walls; three large landscaped plazas form short tunnels for freeway traffic near the Greenfield Road exit.<ref name=ciatrans/> The freeway passes next to the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit as it passes under the third pedestrian plaza. The Interstate then picks up 10 Mile Road, which forms a pair of service drives, as the Reuther runs along the border between the cities of Oak Park and Huntington Woods. I-696 follows the southern edge of the Detroit Zoo. Immediately east of the zoo, the Interstate intersects M-1 (Woodward Avenue),<ref name=MDOT12/><ref name=google/> and crosses a line of the Canadian National Railway that also carries Amtrak passenger service between Detroit and Pontiac.<ref name=MDOT-RR/>
East of the rail crossing, I-696 has a four-level stack interchange with I-75 over the quadripoint for Royal Oak, Madison Heights, Hazel Park and Ferndale.<ref name=MDOT12/><ref name=google/> This interchange marks the eastern end of the cargo restrictions.<ref name=cargo/> I-696 jogs to the northeast near the Hazel Park Raceway, leaving 10 Mile Road. Crossing into Warren in Macomb County at the Dequindre Road interchange, the freeway begins to follow 11 Mile Road again. Near the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant, I-696 has another stack interchange for Mound Road; through the junction, the freeway makes a slight bend to the south. The freeway continues east through the northern edge of Center Line,<ref name=MDOT12/><ref name=google/> crossing a line of Conrail Shared Assets<ref name=MDOT-RR>Template:Cite map</ref> and heading back into Warren. The Interstate crosses into Roseville near the M-97 (Groesbeck Highway) interchange and then meets M-3 (Gratiot Avenue) just west of the eastern terminus at I-94 (the Edsel Ford Freeway) in St. Clair Shores. The service drives merge in this final interchange and 11 Mile Road continues due east to Lake St. Clair.<ref name=MDOT12>Template:Cite MDOT map</ref><ref name=google>Template:Google maps</ref>
Like other state highways in Michigan, I-696 is maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). In 2011, the department's traffic surveys showed that on average 185,700 vehicles used the freeway daily east of I-75 and 38,100 vehicles did so each day in part of the Mixing Bowl, the highest and lowest counts along the highway, respectively.<ref name=TMIS>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As an Interstate Highway, all of I-696 is listed on the National Highway System,<ref name=NHS-MI>Template:Cite map</ref> a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.<ref name=NHS>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
HistoryEdit
Planning and initial constructionEdit
I-696 is part of the original Interstate Highway System as outlined in 1956–58.<ref name=YBD>Template:Cite map</ref> As originally proposed by the Michigan State Highway Department, the freeway would have been numbered I-98.<ref name=RINRM58>Template:Cite book</ref> Construction started in 1961.<ref name=schmidt>Template:Cite news</ref> The Lodge Freeway, the first segment of which opened in 1957,<ref name=dedication>Template:Cite book</ref> was given the Business Spur I-696 designation in 1962.<ref name=MSHD62>Template:Cite MDOT map</ref><ref name=MSHD63>Template:Cite MDOT map</ref> The first segment of I-696 built was the western third of the completed freeway which opened in 1963–1964 at a cost of $16.6 million (equivalent to $Template:Formatprice in Template:Inflation-yearTemplate:Inflation-fn). This section ran from I-96 in Novi east to the Lodge Freeway in Southfield.<ref name=brown>Template:Cite news</ref> The then-unfinished freeway was named for Walter P. Reuther, former leader of the United Auto Workers labor union after he and his wife died in a plane crash on May 9, 1970. The next year the Michigan Legislature approved the naming by passing Senate Concurrent Resolution 57.<ref name=barnett>Template:Cite book</ref>
In the late 1970s, during the second phase of construction, lobbying efforts and lawsuits attempted to block construction of the central section. If successful, the efforts would have left the freeway with a gap in the middle between the first (western) and second (eastern) phases of construction.<ref name=schmidt/> During this time, MDOT assigned M-6 to the eastern section of the freeway under construction. Signs were erected along the service roads that followed 11 Mile Road to connect the already built stack interchange at I-75 east to I-94.<ref name=AAA76>Template:Cite map</ref> By the time the eastern freeway segment was initially opened in January 1979 between I-94 and I-75, the signage for M-6 was removed and replaced with I-696 signage;<ref name=AP79>Template:Cite news</ref> it cost $200 million (equivalent to $Template:Formatprice in Template:Inflation-yearTemplate:Inflation-fn) to complete.<ref name=brown/> Later in 1979, a closure was scheduled to allow work to be completed on three of the segment's nine interchanges.<ref name=AP79/>
Controversies over middle segmentEdit
The central section was the most controversial. Governor James Blanchard was 15 years old and a high school sophomore in neighboring Pleasant Ridge when the freeway was proposed<ref name=hundley/> and purchased a home in the area in 1972.<ref name=schmidt/> He joked during remarks at the dedication in 1989, "The unvarnished truth about this freeway? I wasn't even alive when it was first proposed,"<ref name=hundley/> and added, "frankly, I never thought it would go through."<ref name=schmidt/> Total cost at completion for the entire freeway at the end of the 30-year project was $675 million (equivalent to $Template:Formatprice in Template:Inflation-yearTemplate:Inflation-fn).<ref name=gavrilovich>Template:Cite book</ref>
Arguments between local officials were so intense that during the 1960s, then-Governor George W. Romney once locked fighting bureaucrats in a community center until they would agree on a path for the freeway. During the 1970s, local groups used then-new environmental regulations to oppose the Interstate.<ref name=schmidt/> The freeway was noted in a Congressional subcommittee report on the "Major Interstate System Route Controversy in Urban Areas" for the controversies in 1970. Before 1967, local communities had to approve highway locations and designs, and the debates over I-696 prompted the passage of an arbitration statute. That statute was challenged by Pleasant Ridge and Lathrup Village before being upheld by the Michigan Supreme Court.<ref name=1970report>Template:Cite book</ref> Lathrup Village later withdrew from a planning agreement in 1971; had that agreement been implemented, construction on the central section was scheduled to commence in 1974 and finish in 1976.<ref name=lathrup>Template:Cite news</ref>
The community of Orthodox Jews in Oak Park wanted the freeway to pass to the north of their suburb. When this was deemed to be futile, the community asked for changes to the design that would mitigate the impact of the freeway to the pedestrian-dependent community. Final approval in 1981 of the freeway's alignment was contingent on these mitigation measures.<ref name=ciatrans>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> To address the community's unique needs, the state hired a rabbi to serve as a consultant on the project.<ref name=schmidt/> In addition, a series of landscaped plazas were incorporated into the design, forming the tunnels through which I-696 passes. These structures are a set of three Template:Convert bridges that cross the freeway within a mile (1.6 km).<ref name=context>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They allow members of the Jewish community to walk to synagogues on the Sabbath and other holidays<ref name=naber>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> when Jewish law prohibits driving.<ref name=schmidt/> These plazas had their length limited; if they were longer, they would be considered tunnels that would require ventilation systems.<ref name=michalak>Template:Cite news</ref>
The Detroit Zoo was concerned that noise and air pollution from the Interstate would disturb the animals. They were satisfied by $12 million (equivalent to $Template:Formatprice in Template:Inflation-yearTemplate:Inflation-fn) spent on a new parking ramp and other improvements.<ref name=hundley>Template:Cite news</ref> The City of Detroit tried to stop I-696 as well, but in the end the city was forced to redesign its golf course. A refusal to grant an additional Template:Convert of right-of-way by Detroit forced additional design and construction delays during the 1980s.<ref name=schmidt/>
One of the last obstacles to construction of the freeway was a wetlands area near Southfield. MDOT received a permit from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to destroy Template:Convert of wetland and create a replacement Template:Convert area. In the process, some prairie roses and wetlands milkweed were transplanted from the path of I-696 in 1987.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The final section of the eight-lane freeway opened at a cost of $436 million<ref name=brown/> (equivalent to $Template:Formatprice in Template:Inflation-yearTemplate:Inflation-fn) on December 15, 1989. At the time, one caller to a Detroit radio show commented, "do you realize we have been to the moon and back in the time it has taken to get that road from Ferndale to Southfield?"<ref name=schmidt/>
Since completionEdit
As part of the overall rehabilitation to the Mixing Bowl interchange, a new interchange at Franklin Road was to be constructed in 2006.<ref name=AK>Template:Cite news</ref> An exit ramp from I-696 eastbound to American Drive opened in April 2006. An entrance ramp from Franklin Road to I-696 westbound opened in July 2006. The Franklin Road overpass, which had been closed during this time, re-opened in October 2006.<ref name="i-696 m-10 brochure">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On November 9, 2006, the speed limit was increased from Template:Convert along the length of I-696.<ref name=helms>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=greenwood2006-06-19>Template:Cite news</ref> During speed enforcement patrols in August 2022, the Michigan State Police gave out 77 citations during one 4-hour period including six arrests.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> One motorist was driving at Template:Cvt, while others were cited at Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Restore the ReutherEdit
After many years of patch work and small repairs, it was clear that greater action was needed. As a result, MDOT started "Restore the Reuther" to repair the freeway in Oakland County and reconstruct the section between Dequindre Road and I-94 in Macomb County. This project also involved some pavement repairs and minor structure repairs on the section from I-275/M-5 to Dequindre. In 2019, reconstruction started on the section between Dequindre Road and I-94. This involved two phases. In phase 1, the westbound lanes were closed and detoured. In phase 2, the westbound lanes remained closed, but eastbound lanes were shifted on the westbound lanes. No entrance ramps were open, however there were limited exit ramps open. These ramps were Dequindre, Mound, and Groesbeck Highway. <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2023, MDOT started a complete reconstruction of I-696 from I-275 in Farmington Hills to US 24 (Telegraph Road) in Southfield. The eastbound lanes were reconstructed in 2023, and the westbound lanes were reconstructed the following year.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During the reconstruction of the westbound lanes in 2024, I-696 had two lanes shifted onto the John C Lodge Freeway resulting in a temporary concurrency. This is the first time in the history of I-696 that a concurrency with the Lodge freeway had been in-place.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2025, MDOT began a two-year project to completely rebuild the middle section of I-696. It involves a complete and brutal two-year closure of the eastbound lanes starting from Exit 8 until the I-696/I-75 interchange. The westbound lanes would remain open with minor lane reductions. It was decided to close the eastbound lanes because the exit ramp to M-10 has two lanes of road capacity so it can more easily handle the load than if the westbound lanes were closed (as traffic would need to be routed onto the single lane ramp on the I-696/I-75 interchange).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
During an open house in Oak Park, residents shared concerns about traffic cutting through local neighbors and asked why they couldn't keep both directions of travel open like MDOT did with the project in Farmington Hills. MDOT said it would be difficult for emergency crews to get to the scene of an accident when one occurs if both sides of the freeway were to remain open. Brian Travis, an MDOT construction engineer, said "It's really a safety concern for us, this is the safest and most efficient way to build the project."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
As part of the project, 60 bridges will be repaired, including the rebuilding of the Church Street Plaza bridge that contains Victoria Park. During that rebuilding, a walkway detour will be in place. The project will also include pavement upgrades and updates to 1,100 drainage structures, according to MDOT.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Once the eastbound lanes are reconstructed, westbound traffic will be shifted onto the eastbound lanes. It is unknown if any exit ramps during this shift will be open as the service drives in both directions are expected to remain open. The eastbound lanes are not expected to reopen until Fall 2026.
The closures were initially scheduled to begin on March 1st, but were rescheduled to March 3rd because of the weather.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2027, MDOT planes to finish the project by reconstructing I-696 from the I-75 interchange to Dequindre Road. The project will then be completed.
Exit listEdit
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Related trunklineEdit
Business Spur Interstate 696 (BS I-696) was the designation given to the Lodge Freeway in the Detroit area in 1962.<ref name=MSHD62/><ref name=MSHD63/> This Template:Convert freeway was renumbered as part of US 10 in 1970, when that highway designation was shifted off Woodward Avenue.<ref name=MDSH70>Template:Cite MDOT map</ref><ref name=MDSH71>Template:Cite MDOT map</ref>
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Sister project Template:Attached KML
- Template:Osmrelation-inline
- I-696 at Michigan Highways
- I-696 at Kurumi.com
- I-696 at AARoad's Interstate Guide