LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MI - U.S. 23 remains a major construction zone in Livingston County as crews continue a multi-year expansion of the Flex Route lane system north to I-96.
The Michigan Department of Transportation is warning of a new round of closures for the $162-million project, beginning Thursday, July 11, and affecting the Brighton area. U.S. 23 itself will see intermittent overnight total closures, and other shutdowns are coming to the U.S. 23/I-96 interchange, officials said.
The restrictions will allow for truss and sign installation for the Flex Route project, bringing electronically-controlled shoulder lanes like those that are already in place north of Ann Arbor.
The following closures are planned:
- Eastbound I-96 ramp to southbound U.S. 23 - total closure from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, July 11. Traffic is being detoured via Kensington Road and westbound I-96 to southbound U.S. 23.
- Northbound U.S. 23 ramp to eastbound I-96 - intermittent closures from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. Friday, July 12. Traffic is being detoured via westbound I-96 and Spencer Road to eastbound I-96.
- Eastbound and westbound M-36 ramps to northbound U.S. 23 - total closure from 4 a.m. Saturday, July 13, until 5 a.m. Monday, July 15. Traffic is being detoured via Fieldcrest Drive and the Lee Road entrance ramp to northbound U.S. 23.
- The eastbound/westbound M-36 ramps to northbound U.S. 23 - total closure from 4 a.m. Saturday, July 20, until 5 a.m. Monday, July 22. Traffic is being detoured via Fieldcrest Drive and the Lee Road entrance ramp to northbound U.S. 23.
The Silver Lake Road exit from U.S. 23, north of Whitmore Lake, has been closed for much of the spring for the Flex Route expansion, which includes highway widening and work on interchanges and bridges from M-36 (9 Mile Road) to the I-96 interchange.
The project is slated to run through January 2026 and also involves 7.5 miles of hot-mix asphalt rebuilding along the highway.
The “dynamic shoulder” lane control system expands the highway to three lanes during peak periods, a traffic control measure that has left drivers “overwhelmingly satisfied” and has reduced crashes after the current stretch opened on U.S. 23 north of Ann Arbor in 2017 as Michigan’s first of its kind, an MDOT-commissioned study found.
Phase 2 of the Flex Route is intended to boost traffic safety and ease peak congestion along the busy corridor, according to MDOT.
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