Westbound I-696 in Oakland County closing from I-75 to M-10. Here's what to know
Drivers traveling on westbound Interstate 696 in Oakland County, Michigan, will begin to see some closures this month.
According to the Michigan Department of Transportation, the westbound lanes from I-75 and M-10 will be closed for construction beginning on Nov. 14. The lanes will be shifted to eastbound lanes as crews finish construction on the eastbound lanes.
"What's going to happen is when we put westbound traffic on the newly built eastbound side, you're going to lose access getting off and on the freeway other than at M-1 Woodward and Southfield Road," said Michigan Department of Transportation spokesperson Diane Cross.
From 8 p.m. on Nov. 14 through 10 a.m. on Nov. 16, the following entrance ramps on westbound I-696 will be closed:
- Couzens Avenue
- Bermuda/Hilton Road
- M-1 (Woodward Avenue)
- Coolidge Highway
- Greenfield Road
- Southfield Road
- Evergreen Road
Northbound and southbound I-75 ramps to westbound I-696 will be closed from 4 a.m. on Nov. 15 to 10 a.m. on Nov. 16. Additionally, westbound I-696 will be closed from I-75 to Lahser Road.
From 10 a.m. on Nov. 16 through late 2026, three lanes on westbound I-696 will open from I-75 to Lahser Road with only four exit and entrance ramps open: I-75, M-1, Southfield Road and US-24/M-10/Lahser Road.
Five westbound exit/entrance ramps will be closed through late 2026:
- Couzens Avenue
- Bermuda/Hilton Road
- Coolidge Highway
- Greenfield Road
- Evergreen Road
The construction is part of the Restore the Reuther project. MDOT says the final phase of rebuilding I-696 is expected to be complete in 2026. Major road work between I-75 and Dequindre Road — rebuilding the roadway and improving bridges — will begin in 2027.
Cross says MDOT fully expects this change to be a little bit of a headache at first.
"A lot of drivers are going to be upset by that, but you need to realize that we're making those ramps through the new work zone," Cross said. "We're going to have equipment and trucks and all of that, and so if we tried to have exit ramps and entrance ramps at each point, we wouldn't have a big enough work space to get it done."