Commuters to Get Relief - Eventually - in $14M Makeover

City and state officials broke ground Tuesday on a new $14 million project that will ease traffic congestion at a busy intersection that has caused headaches for commuters in the Farmington and West Bloomfield areas for years.

The two-year “triangle project,” as it is called, includes 14 Mile, Orchard Lake and Northwestern Highway, a route traveled by about 114,000 vehicles a day, The Oakland Press reports.

“I started working on this project when I was in our design division, right around 1990,” said Dennis Kolar, managing director for the Road Commission of Oakland County. “It’s been a long rod.

During construction, commuters will detour from Middlebelt Road to Northwestern Highway and back to 14 Mile.

Road Commission Chairman Greg Jamian said the project significantly improves highway infrastructure.

“In 2014, we will complete the realignment of 14 Mile on the east side of Northwestern Highway,” Jamian said. “The other elements of the triangle project, including the construction of the roundabout on 14 Mile and Orchard Lake, will occur in (spring) 2015.”

The project is funded by a federal, state and local partnership that included grants totaling $3 million from local jurisdictions and $1.5 million from the Michigan Department of Transportation.

“We recognize this work will cause inconvenience for area motorists,” RCOC Chairman Ron Fowkes said. “We ask for their patience while the work is underway – t will be worth it when it’s done. This is short-term pain for long-term gain.”

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Photo: West Bloomfield commuters will encounter detours as a two-year construction project begins on 14 Mile, Orchard Lake Road and Northwestern Highway. (Photo: Patch File Photo)