Editing Interstate 696 (section)

==Route description==
[[File:Spaghetti Bowl Interchange (Novi, Michigan).png|thumb|left|Satellite image of the western terminus in Novi|alt=See caption]]

I-696, which has been called "Detroit's [[Autobahn]]" by some residents,<ref>{{cite news |author = ((Edmonds.com Editors)) |date = November 1998 |url = http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpcontainers/do/vdp/articleId=44033/pageNumber=7 |title = Long-Term Test: 1998 Volkswagen New Beetle |work = Edmunds.com |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080914152225/http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpcontainers/do/vdp/articleId%3D44033/pageNumber%3D7 |archive-date = September 14, 2008 |access-date = July 13, 2012 |url-status = dead }}</ref> reflecting a reputation for fast drivers,<ref name=helms/> begins in the west in the city of [[Novi, Michigan|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, Michigan|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&nbsp;Mile Road in the [[Mile Road System (Detroit)|Mile Road System]] through Farmington Hills, passing south of [[Harrison High School (Michigan)|Harrison High School]] and north of [[Mercy High School (Farmington Hills, Michigan)|Mercy High School]]. After crossing into [[Southfield, Michigan|Southfield]], I-696 passes through the Mixing Bowl,<ref name=MITA>{{cite news |author = Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association |date =Summer 2007 |title = MITA Presents Michigan Construction Quality Partnership Awards |url = http://www.mi-ita.com/Portals/0/pdf%20files/CQP_Article.pdf |work = Cross-Section |publisher = Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association |page = 11 |access-date = August 30, 2012 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131224111826/http://www.mi-ita.com/Portals/0/pdf%20files/CQP_Article.pdf |archive-date = December 24, 2013 }}</ref> another complex interchange that spans over {{convert|2|mi|km|spell=in}} near the [[American Center]] involving M-10 (Lodge Freeway and Northwestern Highway) and [[U.S. Route 24 in Michigan|US Highway&nbsp;24]] (US&nbsp;24, Telegraph Road) between two [[Partial interchange#partial-ic|partial interchanges]] with Franklin Road on the west and Lahser Road on the east. The [[carriageway]]s for I-696 run in the [[median (road)|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 {{convert|10|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} 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 {{convert|20|-|25|ft|m}} 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>{{cite news |last1 = Gillmorn |first1 = Dan |date = August 10, 1989 |title = Hazardous Load Ban Affects Section of I-696 |url = https://www.joc.com/trucking-logistics/hazardous-load-ban-affects-section-i-696_19890810.html |access-date=May 24, 2020 |work = JOC.com |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200524162001/https://www.joc.com/trucking-logistics/hazardous-load-ban-affects-section-i-696_19890810.html |archive-date = May 24, 2020 |url-status = live }}</ref>

[[File:I-696 tunnel.jpg|thumb|View in one of the tunnels formed by the plazas over the freeway in Oak Park|alt=Photograph of]]
After passing through the Mixing Bowl, I-696 follows 11&nbsp;Mile Road, which forms a pair of [[service drive]]s for the main freeway. The Interstate passes through the city of [[Lathrup Village, Michigan|Lathrup Village]] before turning southward and then easterly on an S-shaped path to run along 10&nbsp;Mile Road.<ref name=MDOT12/><ref name=google/> This segment of freeway is known for its extensive use of [[retaining wall]]s; 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&nbsp;Mile Road, which forms a pair of service drives, as the Reuther runs along the border between the cities of [[Oak Park, Michigan|Oak Park]] and [[Huntington Woods, Michigan|Huntington Woods]]. I-696 follows the southern edge of the [[Detroit Zoo]]. Immediately east of the zoo, the Interstate intersects [[M-1 (Michigan highway)|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, Michigan|Pontiac]].<ref name=MDOT-RR/>

[[File:Interstate 696 and M-1 aerial.jpg|thumb|left|Aerial view of the Detroit Zoo, I-696 and M-1 (Woodward Avenue)|alt=Photograph showing an]]
East of the rail crossing, I-696 has a four-level [[stack interchange]] with I-75 over the [[quadripoint]] for [[Royal Oak, Michigan|Royal Oak]], [[Madison Heights, Michigan|Madison Heights]], [[Hazel Park, Michigan|Hazel Park]] and [[Ferndale, Michigan|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&nbsp;Mile Road. Crossing into [[Warren, Michigan|Warren]] in [[Macomb County, Michigan|Macomb County]] at the Dequindre Road interchange, the freeway begins to follow 11&nbsp;Mile Road again. Near the [[Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant]], I-696 has [[Highway revolts in the United States#Detroit|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, Michigan|Center Line]],<ref name=MDOT12/><ref name=google/> crossing a line of [[Conrail Shared Assets]]<ref name=MDOT-RR>{{cite map |author = Michigan Department of Transportation |url = http://www.michigan.gov/documents/MDOT_Official_Rail_130897_7.pdf |title = Michigan's Railroad System |scale = Scale not given |location = Lansing |publisher = Michigan Department of Transportation |date = January 2011 |access-date = February 1, 2011 |format = PDF |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110409130544/http://www.michigan.gov/documents/MDOT_Official_Rail_130897_7.pdf |archive-date = April 9, 2011 }}</ref> and heading back into Warren. The Interstate crosses into [[Roseville, Michigan|Roseville]] near the [[M-97 (Michigan highway)|M-97]] (Groesbeck Highway) interchange and then meets [[M-3 (Michigan highway)|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&nbsp;Mile Road continues due east to [[Lake Saint Clair (North America)|Lake St. Clair]].<ref name=MDOT12>{{cite MDOT map |year= 2012 |inset= Detroit |sections= C3–C13 }}</ref><ref name=google>{{google maps |url= http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=I-696+E&daddr=Unknown+road&hl=en&sll=42.473996,-83.442535&sspn=0.061028,0.058279&geocode=FWBFiAIdHJQG-w%3BFS5riAIdecEO-w&t=h&mra=ls&z=10 |title= Overview Map of I-696 |access-date= July 13, 2012}}</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 annual daily traffic|average]] 185,700&nbsp;vehicles used the freeway daily east of I-75 and 38,100&nbsp;vehicles did so each day in part of the Mixing Bowl, the highest and lowest counts along the highway, respectively.<ref name=TMIS>{{cite web |author = Bureau of Transportation Planning |url = http://mdotnetpublic.state.mi.us/tmispublic/ |title = Traffic Monitoring Information System |publisher = Michigan Department of Transportation |year = 2008 |access-date = July 13, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120702025019/http://mdotnetpublic.state.mi.us/tmispublic/ |archive-date = July 2, 2012 |url-status = live }}</ref> As an Interstate Highway, all of I-696 is listed on the [[National Highway System (United States)|National Highway System]],<ref name=NHS-MI>{{cite map |author = Michigan Department of Transportation |title = National Highway System, Michigan |date = April 23, 2006 |scale = Scale not given |location = Lansing |publisher = Michigan Department of Transportation |url = http://www.michigan.gov/documents/MDOT_NHS_Statewide_150626_7.pdf |format = PDF |access-date = October 7, 2008 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121004040152/http://www.michigan.gov/documents/MDOT_NHS_Statewide_150626_7.pdf |archive-date = October 4, 2012 }}</ref> a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.<ref name=NHS>{{cite web |first1 = Stefan |last1 = Natzke |first2 = Mike |last2 = Neathery |first3 = Kevin |last3 = Adderly |url = https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/ |title = What is the National Highway System? |work = National Highway System |publisher = [[Federal Highway Administration]] |date = June 20, 2012 |access-date = July 1, 2012 |name-list-style = amp |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120828192748/http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/ |archive-date = August 28, 2012 }}</ref>