The Metro: A redo on I-375 reconstruction
As plans evolved, the cost of the I-375 reconstruction project was ballooning to $520 million, drawing criticism from nearby business owners who feared losing money and Detroiters who wanted to ensure the project would deliver reparative outcomes.
A rendering of a boulevard that MDOT is proposing to replace I-375.
The project to reconstruct I-375 is meant to do two things at once: rebuild aging infrastructure and repair the harm caused by a highway that, decades ago, tore through Black neighborhoods and business districts in downtown Detroit.
But as plans evolved, the cost of the I-375 reconstruction project was ballooning to $520 million. Criticism was mounting among nearby business owners who feared losing money and Detroiters who wanted to ensure the project would deliver reparative outcomes.
So in August the Michigan Department of Transportation paused the project. Then last month, it was revived with a different plan.
Jason Garza is the Michigan Department of Transportation Deputy Region Engineer. He spoke with The Metro‘s Robyn Vincent.
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