Major I-475 Construction Project Starts Today In Flint

Driving through Genesee County will be tough if you have to take I-475 for the next year or so.

Just as we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel on the I-69 construction, another major project gets started. (No they're not really building a tunnel on 69).

MDot is starting the $44 Million improvement project on I-475 starting today. The entire thing is projected to be done by November 2019. The good news is that the signs and barriers going up now are just staging for the actual work that is set to begin in the spring.

Here is a complete list of what will take place on the I-475 construction project.

•  Rebuilding 3 miles of I-475 from Carpenter Road, north to just east of Clio Road.
•  Northbound I-475 will include a 50-year pavement design, using hot mix asphalt.
•  I-475 will undergo a capital preventive maintenance cape seal from Clio Road to I-75.
•  Interchange improvements and redesign at Saginaw Street, including the removal of two loop ramps.
•  A freeway road diet, reducing I-475 from three lanes to two lanes from Saginaw to Carpenter Road.
•  Lighting improvements from Carpenter Road to Saginaw.
•  Sign improvements along the entire length of I-475.
•  The ramps from southbound I-475 to westbound I-69 and from westbound I-69 to northbound I-475 will be resurfaced to accommodate additional traffic during construction.
•  Removal of the pedestrian bridges on each side of the Saginaw Street interchange.
•  Bridge and ramp work at Saginaw Street and Detroit Street.

As much as I-475 needs these improvements, it will be a headache for a lot of people. Normally people use 475 to get around holiday traffic on 75, or as a site seeing tour.