They've had a few days to study their options, and drivers are finding ways to deal with the new highway construction detours in west Michigan.
Those decisions are adding traffic to secondary roads and affecting some who live and work on those alternate routes.
On Friday, April 20, eastbound I-96 between West River Drive and Plainfield Avenue closed for repair.
People who live on nearby 4 Mile Road say extra traffic from drivers bypassing the detour are creating delays and danger they don’t usually deal with.
“I have kids and there hasn't been a lot of traffic before,” says Israel Mayorga. “Now that it is really busy I have to be more careful with the kids.”
“Unless it is really congested, some of them are coming fast,” says neighbor Roberta Lambert. “It makes it real inconvenient if you want to get out of here to go to the store or something.”
MDOT is doing the I-96 project in phases. Work on the eastbound lanes should be finished by late June, and the westbound lanes will be done by mid-August. The entire project is scheduled for completion by the end of October.
Need a detour? Here are some routes to help you avoid the construction.
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