Community Corner

Oakland County I-75 Project Will Be Completed By 2020: MDOT

Alternative financing will allow the state to finish the freeway project 10 years ahead of schedule.

ROCHESTER, MI — Oakland County drivers got a good piece of news Monday when the Michigan Department of Transportation announced that its massive rebuild of I-75 will completed a full 10 years ahead of schedule. An 18-mile stretch of the freeway from Hazel Park to Pontiac will be done by 2020, thanks to a different financing approach, according to a Detroit News report.

"We came out last year and announced this modernization project and we took a pay-as-you-go approach," said Michigan Department of Transportation spokesman Rob Morosi. "We heard from communities, motorists, and stakeholders that this was going to take too long. So we looked at a different way of financing to accelerate this project."
“Instead of doing the project piecemeal and the state footing the bill for every step of construction, contractors pay for its materials, construction and maintenance and will be reimbursed by MDOT. As a result, contractors have an incentive to do work on or ahead of schedule.”
For more, go to the Detroit News.

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Photo courtesy of the Michigan Department of Transportation

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