LoginI-696 “Restore the Reuther” project is almost finished.
Metro Detroit drivers are about to get some relief for a major traffic headache.
The Michigan Department of Transportation is nearing the end of its Restore the Reuther project.
Crews have been rebuilding I-696 between I-75 and M-10 since early 2025. They took care of the eastbound lanes first and recently completed work on the westbound side.
Starting on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, MDOT will reopen the westbound lanes.
Spokesperson Diane Cross says they’ll also reopen all the off-ramps on westbound 696 except one–the Woodward Avenue exit. She says they were working on Woodward but had to stop because of the annual Dream Cruise.
“We have to come back and do some work on the service drive,” she says. “And because of that, we can’t have any traffic coming off the freeway through the area where we’re working.”
The end is near
To prepare for the reopening of the westbound lanes, MDOT will close the freeway between I-75 and M-10 from 9 p.m. on Oct. 9 until 5 a.m. on Oct. 12.
Cross says eastbound 696 remains closed between M-10 and I-75, but that won’t last much longer
“We have to repair all those places where we were letting traffic cross over through the work zone,” she says. “We’ve got a lot of clean up in the median on before we can shift eastbound back.”
Cross says that work should be complete by the end of the year.
Once both sides of the freeway are open, drivers will no longer have to use the 26-mile detour around eastbound 696. It has taken traffic south on M-10, east on Davison, and north on 75 to rejoin the Reuther Freeway.
MDOT still has work to do on 696 between I-75 and Dequindre. That will start in 2027, but Cross says they won’t have to close the freeway.
“We will leave two lanes open in each direction,” she says. “It’ll be slow and there’ll be work, but traffic will be able to use the freeway.”
Maintenance will continue
Cross says drivers will see maintenance work on 696 in the years to come.
“We have to take care of small problems before they become big problems,” she says. “You want us doing maintenance because that makes the roadway last longer.”
Drivers can get updates on the project at MDOT’s Driving Oakland website.
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