Detroit Regional Chamber > Advocacy > Gov. Whitmer Announces I-375 Modernization Project

Gov. Whitmer Announces I-375 Modernization Project

March 18, 2022
In response to the state’s announcement of an infrastructure modernization project of the I-375 freeway in Detroit, the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Vice President of Government Relations Brad Williams shared, “Moving this project towards the design stage allows businesses and community members to begin to envision a new boulevard that will allow businesses to flourish in one of Detroit’s historic generators of Black businesses, community, and history in alignment with two pillars of the Chamber’s Michigan 2030 plan.”


Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this week announced that the State of Michigan is moving forward with plans to replace the I-375 freeway with an urban boulevard to spur economic development and provide easier access between adjacent areas of Detroit. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has concluded their environmental review process after securing a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), which allows the project to advance to the design phase, beginning this spring. 

“As we continue getting things done on the roads … we must take a closer look at the unjust legacy of so many of our freeways. This includes I-375, which paved through two prosperous Black neighborhoods decades ago, displacing 130,000 people, hundreds of small businesses, churches, and more. Now, we must build up our state’s infrastructure with equity at the core,” said Gov. Whitmer.

“As development has pushed east from downtown and west from Lafayette Park, the barrier that I-375 represents in our city has become even more apparent,” said Mike Duggan, mayor of Detroit. “Removing the freeway ditch and replacing it with a street-level boulevard will unlock enormous development opportunities. It was Black residents and Black businesses that were hurt when Black Bottom was wiped out and they were displaced for the construction of this freeway. Black businesses today should benefit from the enormous development opportunities this project will create.”  

I-375 was built more than 50 years ago. During construction, prominent Black neighborhoods Black Bottom and Paradise Valley were demolished to make way for the freeway. Constructed through a thriving Hasting Street, the new I-375 opened in 1964 and created a barrier between the central business district in Detroit and the neighborhoods to the east, resulting in decades of underinvestment and a lack of opportunity for the predominantly Black communities on the other side of the freeway.  

Several blocks of commercial and residential buildings were also leveled to make way for the freeway and urban renewal. Although I-375 has a number of cross-bridges, many properties declined due to reduced connectivity and especially because the community’s economic and residential base was substantially dislocated. 

According to a press release from the state, after nearly 60 years of use, I-375, the I-75/I-375 Interchange, and associated bridges are nearing the end of their useful service life and require modernization.

Extensive research was conducted starting in 2014 with a Planning and Environmental Linkage (PEL) study to identify and evaluate alternatives for the corridor that would meet the transportation needs of all users in a cost-effective manner and improve connectivity.

The selected alternative is a street-level boulevard that will begin south of the I-75 interchange and continue to the Detroit River (Atwater Street), effectively using the city grid to disperse and collect traffic and opening additional connections to the riverfront, Eastern Market, and Brush Park, and create a new local connector street from Eastern Market to Gratiot Avenue. Improved nonmotorized facilities include a two-way cycle track on the east side of the boulevard connecting the riverfront to the Montcalm Street extension and will extend west to Brush Street and east to Gratiot Avenue, where it will connect with the Dequindre Cut bicycle path. 

The PEL determined that the transformation from a freeway to a boulevard was feasible. The conclusion of the PEL lead to an Environmental Assessment (EA) study to document the human and natural impacts associated with any proposed improvements. Guided by the study’s purpose and need, as well as extensive public outreach, a preferred alternative was developed and presented at both a virtual meeting and an in-person public hearing in January 2021. 

MDOT and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) have documented and thoroughly reviewed the public comments submitted in the FONSI, which is the final National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) decision document and describes why the I-375 improvement project will not have any significant environmental impacts expected to occur upon implementation of the selected alternative design. NEPA is about people and places and balances engineering and transportation needs with social, economic, and natural environmental factors. 

To address public comments, MDOT added measures to be taken that acknowledge the impacts on residents and business owners in the former Black Bottom and Paradis Valley neighborhoods. These measures include:

  • Implementing a process for the community to provide meaningful input that can be incorporated into the final design. The process will begin with the formation of a new community-based local advisory committee. 
  • Preparing and implementing a community enhancement plan, land use framework plan, and aesthetic design guidelines with the new advisory committee.
  • Using the value of the excess property to fund community priorities that will be identified during outreach efforts.         

View the full press release.


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