[DetroitMan]

The Detroit News had a neat photo gallery of the Lodge Freeway in today's article about the freeway being shutdown for reconstruction. Work on the Lodge started in the late 1940s and was completed by the mid 60s. It connects downtown to the northwest suburbs.

John C. Lodge, photographed Jan. 10, 1928 during his last term as mayor of Detroit. The freeway that ties downtown Detroit to the northwest suburbs was named after him.


Pedestrians take the new Selden overpass to reach the other side the Lodge Highway on Dec. 11, 1952.


Traffic was forced to take the Temple exit at Grand River on May 1, 1953. More miles on the Lodge would open as they were completed.


Dipping under Cobo Center, the final downtown section of the Lodge Expressway was set to open Nov. 3, 1959. The new section, shown on Oct. 2, 1959, extended a half mile from Third to Randolph.


The Lodge runs into Northwestern Highway, completing a 9-mile stretch that opened Nov. 10, 1959.


[b]From the intersection of West Jefferson and the Lodge, traffic goes under the Union Depot station and train tracks.[/img]


The James Couzens entrance ramp was backed up on Dec. 7, 1959.


A sign at the Howard Street exit ramp warns horse-drawn vehicles not to enter the expressway.


Southbound Lodge was open at Puritan but northbound lanes were not ready on Oct. 2, 1963.


Another section of freeway was opened at Meyers on Dec. 9, 1963.


First motorists travel a new section between Greenfield and 7 Mile Road on June 23, 1964.


Sign on the Chicago Boulevard entrance ramp July 6, 1967 advises that a television monitoring system helps control traffic flow.


A 1,000-car parking structure, shown Nov. 1971, was proposed in the Forest-Warren area at Wayne State University. The structure would have five parking decks suspended from an 18-foot-deep steel truss. The top floor would be for office or classroom space and would link the main WSU campus and athletic facilities.


Traffic passes through smashed icicles and dripping water in the Cobo Center underpass on Dec. 30, 1983.


Deteriorating pavement needed temporary repairs near Howard Street on Oct. 24, 1984. A major freeway rebuilding was still several years away.


Part of the massive freeway reconstruction, a retaining wall is taken down on the northbound Lodge at Collingwood.


The first phase of the Lodge reconstruction was nearing completion on Sept. 5, 1986. Southbound traffic was diverted into one lane at Forest, causing a one-mile backup.


The Lodge is closed to traffic at I-75 while crews remove old pavement on April 11, 1987.


Crews pour new concrete on the northbound Lodge near the I-94 interchange on July 9, 1987.


Construction of the Lodge under Cobo Center was completed by Aug. 17, 1989. The freeway would reopen in two months after finishing work in other sections was completed. The road under the expanded Cobo Center was lowered 8-10 feet. Entrance and entrance ramps at Larned and Congress were added.


The rebuilt Lodge Freeway reopened at 3 p.m. Oct. 14, 1987, nine months behind schedule and $8 million over budget.