While the freeway was closed in May, our team took the opportunity to view the work progress from north of 8 Mile Road to Shevlin Avenue .  In this video, you can see the posts being installed for the noise wall along the southbound service drive near 8 Mile Road, the beams being set over the freeway at the Browning Avenue Pedestrian bridge, and the progress of the Shevlin Avenue Bridge. 

WHAT: 

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and Oakland Corridor Partners (OCP) invite the public to attend a virtual public meeting regarding a change to the I-75/12 Mile Road interchange for segment 3 of the ongoing I-75 modernization project in Oakland County. During this virtual event, there will be a brief presentation followed by a question-and-answer session. Questions can be submitted during the meeting using the chat tool. 

WHO:  

• MDOT staff and project consultants OCP staff 
• Interested residents and local stakeholders                    

WHEN: 

• Thursday, June 17, 2021 
  6 - 7 p.m. 
  Project team presentation 6:05 - 6:15 p.m.  

WHERE: 

• Zoom Virtual Public Meeting: Click here to access Zoom Meeting 
• Passcode: 423694 
• To join by phone without using Internet, call 312-626-6799    
• Webinar ID: 843 8852 0773 
• Passcode: 423694  

Once completed, how does the Drainage and Storage Tunnel work?  

Storm water is collected from the I-75 freeway and service drives in a network of pipes that direct flows into seven “drop shafts” (large pipes).  These shafts connect to the tunnel below, where the storm water then flows north to a new pump station just northeast of the I-75 and 12 Mile Road interchange.  The pump station lifts the water nearly 100-feet and discharges it into the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner (OCWRC) Retention Treatment Facility.    

For more information on the drainage tunnel please visit our Project Highlights page   http://modernize75.com/Project-Highlights-Tunnel.    

Drop Shaft at 11 Mile Road

A Brass In, Brass Out board tells how many people are in the tunnel, should there be a safety issue. As crew members arrive to the tunnel, they move their assigned “Brass” from the “Out” position, to the “In” position.  This helps the site safety team know how many people are in the tunnel at any given time and allows for the team to monitor for crew limits based on space.  

Jay Dee’s “Brass” Board indicating crew inside/outside the tunnel

Eliza (the tunnel boring machine) remains hard at work underground, heading north towards 12 Mile Road. Eliza has now traveled over 2,700-feet north from the I-696 Shaft Site (northeast corner of the I-75/I-696 interchange), placing her near Cowan Avenue and the northbound service drive intersection.   So far, 549 “rings” of 5-foot long precast concrete tunnel linings have been installed.  There have been 3,294 individual precast concrete segments installed.  You can see them all bolted together in the picture below.  For more information on Eliza and the drainage tunnel please visit our Project Highlights page   http://modernize75.com/Project-Highlights-Tunnel.    

View from inside the Tunnel, shows the precast segments installed, as well as the temporary rail line and construction utilities.

Crews have been busy rebuilding the Shevlin Avenue Bridge. After the bridge was demolished at the end of February, crews have been working on the base and foundation so the new beams could be set.  Check out the time lapse video from April 9th-14th for a peak into the process of beam setting.  The beams over northbound I-75 were set while the freeway was closed earlier this month, while the beams over southbound were able to be set while the freeway was open since all traffic is maintained on the northbound side of the freeway.