On July 7, 2017, a Notice of Intent (NOI) was published in the Federal Register announcing MDOT’s plan to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to review the impacts that may be associated with the modernization of the I-94 freeway in Detroit.
While MDOT moves ahead with the SEIS, other parts of the project will progress as well. FHWA has approved the design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction work on freeway bridges that demonstrate independent utility. This work will move forward prior to completion of the SEIS to address their poor condition. This work was previously reviewed in the 2005 EIS and is not changed by the proposed modifications.
The proposed modifications were developed to address changes in the city of Detroit that have occurred over the past decade including, but not limited to, the redevelopment of Midtown. Overall, the focus of the design modifications is to:
- Better use existing city streets as local connections instead of building new, continuous service drives adjacent to the freeway as proposed in the original plan.
- Modify local access ramps to and from I-94, M-10 and I-75.
- Add “Complete Streets” bridges to provide multi-modal access, making them user-friendly for cars, bikes and pedestrians with wider walkways/paths separated from traffic and landscaping.
The DSEIS was published in August 2019. MDOT provided a 45-day public comment period and held public hearings in October 2019 to solicit public comments.
While MDOT moves ahead with the SEIS, FHWA approved the design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction work on select freeway bridges to address their poor condition. This work was previously reviewed in the 2005 EIS and is not changed by the proposed modifications.
"The SEIS process will study alternatives proposed by stakeholders that may have the potential to improve local connectivity and mobility for the residents of Detroit."
Terry Stepanski
MDOT SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER, I-94 MODERNIZATION PROJECT