Westbound I-696 between I-75 and M-10 reopens Monday after Reuther rebuild

The Michigan Department of Transportation will reopen the westbound lanes of I-696 between I-75 and M-10 on Monday, Oct. 12. The reopening is part of the Restore the Reuther project, which has rebuilt that stretch of the Walter P. Reuther Freeway since early 2025. Crews finished the eastbound side first and then completed the westbound side.

MDOT said the westbound lanes will reopen with all westbound off-ramps except the Woodward Avenue exit. Spokesperson Diane Cross said crews had been working on Woodward but had to stop for the annual Woodward Dream Cruise.

“We have to come back and do some work on the service drive,” Cross said. “And because of that, we can’t have any traffic coming off the freeway through the area where we’re working.”

MDOT closed the freeway between I-75 and M-10 from 9 p.m. Oct. 9 until 5 a.m. Oct. 12 before the reopening. Cross said eastbound I-696 remains closed between M-10 and I-75, and the department expects to reopen it by the end of the year.

“We have to repair all those places where we were letting traffic cross over through the work zone,” Cross said. “We’ve got a lot of clean up in the median on before we can shift eastbound back.”

Once both directions are open, drivers will no longer have to use the 26-mile detour that has routed eastbound traffic south on M-10, east on Davison, and north on I-75 to rejoin the Reuther Freeway. The detour connects Oakland County with the northern Detroit suburbs.

MDOT still has work remaining on I-696 between I-75 and Dequindre. That phase is scheduled to start in 2027, but Cross said the freeway will not be closed. Two lanes will remain open in each direction while crews work.

“We will leave two lanes open in each direction,” Cross said. “It’ll be slow and there’ll be work, but traffic will be able to use the freeway.”

Cross said drivers will continue to see maintenance crews on I-696 after the project.

“We have to take care of small problems before they become big problems,” Cross said. “You want us doing maintenance because that makes the roadway last longer.”

Drivers can get project updates on MDOT’s Driving Oakland website.