Motorists can expect construction on US-127, just south of Lansing for much of 2024. The work will add a third lane to the highway, eventually, in both directions between I-496 and I-96. Trowbridge road access will also be restricted.
Transportation officials say adding a third lane will decrease congestion, allowing for better flow for some 50,000 vehicles that merge onto US-127 every day. The Northbound freeway and entrance and exit ramps for Trowbridge road will be closed beginning March 11 through November.
Trevor Block, a Michigan Department of Transportation engineer said long term studies show without improvements, congestion will become a greater problem for the area.
“You have to make lane changes in order to get into the lane you want to get off on your exit and haul occurs in a short amount of time with high volumes on the roadway, a lot of congestion on the roadway to begin with,” Block said in an interview with WKAR., adding that the highway “sees about 5000 vehicles in one direction an hour. Which is a lot of people to try to get through there, especially in two lanes.”
Block said adding more space for motorists to merge into the highway will decrease the number of accidents on the road. “We see a lot of crashes on that on southbound 127 Especially in the 496 interchange where everybody's merging all at the same time.”
During construction, the freeway will have two northbound lanes and one southbound lane open in the morning, and shift to two southbound lanes and one northbound open after noon.
The Southbound freeway is scheduled to see similar work, adding a third lane in 2025. The construction is funded through the Rebuilding Michigan Program, which is focused on rebuilding highways and roads.