Summer is still months away, but this year’s orange barrel road construction season is already beginning with a major closure on eastbound Interstate 696 in Oakland County and construction starting this week on another massive project on M-14/Interstate 96 in Wayne County.

The Michigan Department of Transportation and Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties are planning dozens of projects this construction season. The I-696 reconstruction is the most extensive, but others will still cause headaches for drivers, including resurfacing 10 Mile between Telegraph and Lahser roads in Southfield and the reconstruction of 10 Mile between Sherwood and Lorraine avenues in Center Line.

MDOT spokesperson Diane Cross said construction season is generally starting in February, unlike March or April in previous years. A lot of work can be done in earlier in the year regardless of weather, such as placing barrier walls or digging up the ground. Some tasks like pouring concrete still occur later because it requires above-freezing temperatures, she said.

Cross said part of the responsibility of driving is planning ahead. Drivers should check their route ahead of time and be aware of “what’s happening on the roads,” she said.

“If it’s not your area, you can ignore it,” Cross said. “But if it’s part of your commute or near your home, you should be aware of projects.”

Below is a roundup of what’s ahead. Drivers should monitor MDOT’s website for information about vehicle crashes and lane and ramp closures.

Oakland County and I-696 project

The “Restore the Reuther” project on I-696 in Oakland County is perhaps the most high-profile road project in the state this year. The $275 million project is in its final phase and will shut down the eastbound lanes between M-10 and Interstate 75 for two years. Both directions between that eight-mile stretch will be rebuilt, but westbound traffic will always be allowed. The closure will last until 2027.

MDOT has resumed work on an approximately $160 million, four-year project to resurface and repair I-75 from M-15 (Ortonville Road) to the Oakland/Genesee county line, according to a department press release. Cross said the project will wrap up in 2026.

This year, southbound I-75 will be milled and resurfaced from M-15 to the county line with two lanes of northbound and southbound traffic sharing the northbound side of the freeway. Bridge repairs will be performed throughout the project limits along southbound I-75. MDOT expects to complete the work for the year in late fall.

The “Restore the Reuther” project won’t be the only one causing gridlock and headaches in Oakland County. A handful of county road commission projects will take place this year near the I-696 work.

One is the $3.2 million resurfacing of 10 Mile between Telegraph and Lahser roads in Southfield. It’s expected to run mid-April through July. One lane in each direction and the center left turn lane will remain open. Major resurfacing work includes pulling up pavement, making repairs to the road base and putting down new pavement, said Craig Bryson, the road commission’s spokesperson.

Another is the $4 million resurfacing of 12 Mile between Middlebelt and Inkster roads in Farmington Hills, which is scheduled

to run mid-March through October. The major project will completely close the eastbound section of 12 Mile in the project area.

Other projects include the $4.4 million resurfacing of 12 Mile between Northwestern Highway and Telegraph Road in Southfield, which is expected to run mid-April through August, and the $5.4 million resurfacing of Orchard Lake Road south of I-696 to Six Mile, which is scheduled to run June through November. For both projects, one lane in each direction and the center left turn lane will remain open.

Even though some projects have already started, drivers will have a reprieve until mid-April for others.

“That schedule is dictated by when the asphalt plants open and close,” the road commission’s Bryson said. “Whenever the weather is warm enough, but it’s generally mid-April that the asphalt plants are open. … Most major construction starts mid-April and ends roughly mid-November.”

Macomb County projects

The Macomb County has nearly two dozen projects planned this construction season. The planned work varies from the reconstruction of roads and bridges to preventive maintenance, according to a list of projects provided by the county road department.

The most expensive project is the $10 million reconstruction of 10 Mile Road between Sherwood and Lorraine avenues in Center Line. The county also has reconstruction work planned for Garfield Road between 14 Mile and 15 Mile roads in Fraser that will cost $8.3 million.

Three projects are currently under way: infrastructure improvements by the Great Lakes Water Authority on Dequindre Road between Hamlin and Avon roads, and on Dequindre between 23 Mile and 24 Mile roads; the Garfield Road project between 14 Mile and 15 Mile roads; and bridge replacement work on 34 Mile Road between Armada Ridge and Russ roads in Richmond Township.

In Macomb County, MDOT also will be spending about $8 million to resurface five miles of M-3, or Gratiot Avenue, from Sandpiper Drive to 23 Mile Road, resurface 23 Mile from Gratiot Avenue to Interstate 94, upgrade sidewalk curb ramps and make other improvements.

The funding comes from a mix of federal, state and local money. Bryan Santo, the director of the county’s Department of Roads, said juggling the priorities of each city and township when allocating the cash is always a challenge.

“There’s definitely more wants and needs than there is money available, which always makes it tough to program that money,” Santo said. “But we do have a very … analytically driven system to move forward with, as far as roadway segments to improve or bridge segments to improve.”

Wayne County projects

Wayne County’s Department of Public Services has five big road projects planned this season, including a $10 million project to replace the Denton Road bridge in Belleville.

Another $10 million project will involve reconstructing the pavement on Oakwood Boulevard from Beech Street to Rotunda Drive in Dearborn. And the county plans a $9 million pavement reconstruction project for Belleville Road between Tyler and Ecorse roads in Van Buren Township.

Another major project likely to cause headaches in Wayne County, and detours, is a $140 million MDOT project for M-14/I-96. Two lanes now are open westbound, with some ramp closures, and only one lane is open eastbound, with no exits or entrances, Cross said. That means that Gotfredson Road is the last entrance onto M-14 eastbound. These closures will remain in effect until late in the year.

MDOT is reconstructing the eastbound direction of the freeway this year and will rebuild the westbound side next year, when two lanes will be open in each direction.

M-14 is a popular route for residents of Metro Detroit who drive to Ann Arbor for University of Michigan football games.

“Where we’ll really have people upset about it is probably going to be when we get closer to football season, so when we get to like August and people are going to Michigan games,” Cross said.

MDOT also is in the second phase of a $18.5 million project to replace two bridges and improve four bridges on U.S. 24, or Telegraph Road, from the U.S. 24/I-75 connector to Mercier Avenue, north of Eureka Road, in Taylor. The southbound direction of the U.S. 24/I-75 connector has been closed and will re-open at the end of 2025, Cross said. The northbound direction, which was closed last year, re-opened in February.

At the end of 2025, Cross said, MDOT will start roadwork on a $353 million, three-year project on I-94 from Wayne Road in Romulus to Michigan Avenue in Dearborn.

Other statewide projects

Those traveling north, meanwhile, should expect delays at the Zilwaukee Bridge in Saginaw County starting in April.

MDOT is doing $2.9 million of preventive maintenance on the bridge. southbound I-75 and the Zilwaukee Bridge will be fully closed from Kochville to Wadsworth Road starting April 14. It’s expected to be done by June 27, said MDOT spokeswoman Caitlyn French. Work will then begin on the northbound side, which is expected to start July 14 and end in the fall.

Elsewhere across Michigan, MDOT has other major projects planned.

Major projects are also happening in other parts of the state. In Ionia County, which is between Lansing and Grand Rapids, MDOT is spending about $105 million to rebuild eight miles of I-96 between Bliss Road and Sunfield Road. The project started in 2024 and is expected to end in November 2026.

The department is spending about $70 million to rebuild US-131 from 76th Street to 100th Street in Byron Township outside of Grand Rapids, a project that is expected to end in November. It is also the second year of a three-year, $204 million I-94 rebuilding project in Berrien County.

In Bay City, the $117 million demolition and rebuild of the Lafayette Bridge bascule structure over the Saginaw River started in 2024 and will end in 2027. In Flint, the $141 million project to rebuild Interstate 475 north and southbound from the Flint River to Carpenter Road started last year and will end this year.

And in northern Michigan, MDOT plans to start and complete a $25.6 million project to rebuild 2.2 miles of M-72 and M-22 west of Traverse City this year.