Despite rumors of its eminent death, the I-375 replacement project is continuing to move forward albeit with changes.
In August, the Governor paused the project ($) primarily due to its increasing costs and local business concerns about disruptions during construction. In September, Eric Larson, CEO of the Downtown Detroit Partnership offered the “only viable solutions” in an opinion piece ($): Break the project into two phases or just rebuild it as is. Needless to say, we didn’t support the latter solution. (Surprisingly, Mayor Duggan did appear to support an I-375 rebuild when we asked him.)
We continued our conversations with MDOT, DDP, and Kresge Foundation. In the end, we felt we could support a two-phase approach. It was better than what we had.
The first phase would replace I-375 south of Gratiot with a boulevard as previously envisioned. It would remove the “Jefferson Curve” and address the three failing bridges (Jefferson, Lafayette and Larned). It would also address the failing Gratiot bridge over the Dequindre Cut. It would include a two-way cycletrack from Gratiot to the RiverWalk, which we really like.
The second phase would be a redesign of the I-75 interchange and the removal of the Fisher Freeway stub connection to Gratiot. This gives MDOT more time to work with major stakeholders in that area, specifically Eastern Market businesses, and develop better strategies for limiting negative impacts during construction. Unfortunately, the Montcalm cycletrack between Ford Field and Eastern Market would get pushed back to this later phase. We didn’t like hearing that this could be pushed back by 10 years or so.
Will the USDOT support this? We’ll find out. Their grant covers a large portion of the costs.
If you missed the November 2025 community meeting that discussed much of the above, there is a livestream recording available. The presentation and displays will eventually be added to MDOT’s I-375 Detroit webpage.