The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) again is delaying the scheduled start date for reconstruction, pavement repairs, and bridge work on I-475 from south of I-75/I-475 north to I-69.

Work, originally scheduled to start Monday, April 12, now is expected to begin Monday, April 19. Completion is scheduled for early July 2010.

This $18-million project is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Work will include pavement repairs from Bristol Road to I-69, reconstruction work on I-475 from the I-75/I-475 split north to Bristol and the Hill Road interchange ramps, along with the Hill Road and Bristol Road bridges and the I-475 bridges over Maple Road. The bridge work also includes deck repairs, railing replacements, and widening I-475 over Maple Road. 

Once work begins, I-475 will be closed from the I/75/I-475 split north to Atherton Road with traffic detoured. Motorists will be rerouted on I-75 to the I-75/I-69 interchange, then east to the I-75/I-475 interchange. One lane will remain open on northbound I-475 from Atherton Road to north of I-69.

A section of northbound I-475, from I-69 to the Hill Road interchange, is scheduled to re-open in mid-May.

Southbound I-475 will remain open through early May, when it is expected to close for approximately two months to accommodate reconstruction work.

MDOT will announce anticipated lane and ramp closures as work progresses, using changeable message boards.