Detroit & Michigan: Go-Town Transportation Lowdown

[Velvet_Highground]

There’s a study to explore a possible future expansion using a city department that has had very little responsibility for a long time to do a transit station development is a very early testing I think for maybe being serious about an expansion. The hardware will probably needed to be upgraded in the next decade or two if federal and state money are available to back Detroit up it’s a viable option but not a large long term solution.

If the goal of an expansion is to try and make something more out of the little monorail circle especially with more conventions and sports being is a viable goal. Like connecting the confusing dense downtown core with the densest neighborhoods Midown, Eastern Market and Corktown. That the Target store development not happening sucks but it’s a direct reflection of the bad financial times we are all in not that the project is unworkable in another form.

Not saying it’s going to happen just saying hey let’s see where this goes just that this is the direction they may be looking.

[ardecila]

I dunno, I think a People Mover expansion to Michigan Central/Corktown makes a ton of sense. If you tie in at Water Square, you only need a 1/2 mile of new elevated structure along Jefferson, then you can descend to ground level and run it in the SW Greenway trench with a stop at Ralph Wilson Park. Should be fairly affordable / less than $1B if they plan it carefully.

This way you can move Amtrak service to MCS, which is a much better gateway than New Center. And the People Mover would tie MCS into downtown much better than the Q-Line does... since it's fully automated, it can run frequently enough to be useful even to tourists.

[Velvet_Highground]

I 100% agree a People mover expansion down Michigan Ave would make a lot of sense especially with the Canadian HSR coming. South Mack Ave was sort of the envisioned northern boundary with the DMC and Cultural Center in easy access. The Eastern Market/Lafayette Park & East Riverfront were the neighborhoods being studied along with Corktown.

There’s a lot of different options and combinations but Corktown would be easiest. There’s even a model to build off when a light rail extension was proposed in 2017 a Q-Line style of local stake holders offered to help the project financially. It didn’t go anywhere because it was drawn up for the Amazon HQ bs. Though fortunately like with Michigan Central there’s a potential transit coalition, I highly doubt the Morouns will help with anything now.

Anyways yea it’s a logical next step connect MCS transit center to downtown’s Rosa Park’s and the Time Sq People mover main station in a manner of speaking, it’s maintenance center.

[airforceguy]

Detroit city airport unveils first new hangar and terminal in 60 years

The city of Detroit unveiled the new Avflight fixed base operator complex on Wednesday as part of an $8 million, 30-year lease with Coleman A. Young International Airport.

The east side airport primarily services business executives and has a large cohort of general aviation aircraft for sports teams and others interested in renting the facilities. The new complex features a 5,000-square-foot terminal, a 20,000-square-foot heated hangar and an attached, heated indoor parking garage for four passenger vehicles.

The new hangar and terminal represent an investment and long-term commitment to the city, said Avflight Senior Vice President of Operations Joe Meszaros.

“So many Detroiters understand just how important this airport is to our city, and while this airport has experienced years of disinvestment, under the leadership of Director Jason Watt, and through strong public-private partnerships like the one today with Avflight, City Airport is rising higher in so many different ways over the last several years,” Mayor Mary Sheffield said.

Watt told Crain’s that the airport sees 45,000 to 55,000 takeoffs and landings each year. He said the airport saw 60 planes land in a single day over the recent Grand Prix weekend, which was the busiest day he’s seen since he became director of the airport 15 years ago.

Fixed-base operator Avflight and the city of Detroit broke ground on the project last summer in what was the first major rejuvenation effort at the 97-year-old airport in more than half a century. Ann Arbor-based Avflight operates a network of full-service fixed-base operators across North America and Europe. Fixed-base operators are businesses granted the ability by an airport authority to run an airport and provide fuel, parking and hangar space, among other services.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/transportation/cdb-coleman-young-airport-new-terminal-20260603/

[airforceguy]

I'm this lawsuit was tossed. If the vote passes in August, all three of Metro Detroit's biggest counties will be all in on SMART and no more opt out communities.


Wayne County Public Transportation millage on ballot after lawsuit dismissed

A judge dismissed a lawsuit to keep a more than $500 million Wayne County Public Transportation millage from appearing on the Aug. 4 ballot.

That means 43 Wayne County communities will vote on the proposed tax, including 17 that have opted out of it until now.

Plymouth residents could be among those paying the Wayne County Public Transportation millage for the first time if voters approve it in August. We asked some of them if it's worth the cost to bring SMART buses to their community.

One resident told us he's not in favor of the new millage because he doesn't think Wayne County will follow through on bringing SMART buses to Plymouth.

"If you look at Oakland County's 2022 millage, they had a big map of what the proposed routes could be. When you look at what they've actually provided over the last four years, it's just a tiny fraction of what they promised," said Plymouth resident Ron Picard.

The 10-year, $570 million proposal promises to spend the money on funding current routes, expanding new fixed routes, particularly to former opt-out communities, and expanding services for seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities.

https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/way...ion-millage-on-ballot-lawsuit-dismissed/

[DetroitMan]

Gordie Howe Bridge set to open July 27, Canadian government says

The Gordie Howe International Bridge between Detroit and Windsor will open July 27, the Canadian government and Michigan announced Friday evening.

The announcement comes after disagreements with the Trump administration delayed a planned opening of the bridge in early June. The Associated Press reported earlier Friday that the U.S. and Canada resolved issues that led the Trump administration to the delay, citing two people directly involved in the negotiations who requested anonymity.

In June, the WDBA announced that the launch of the new international span was postponed for unspecified negotiations between the two countries.

According to Friday’s announcement, Canada and the United States “agreed to a series of cooperative measures focused on toll governance and transparency, as well as investments in the region, including through the establishment of a 15-year economic development fund tied to a portion of profits from bridge operations.”

Trump in February had threatened to block the bridge, which will need Customs and Border Protection personnel on the U.S. side to manage traffic.

Trump made his demand that the United States be “fully compensated” weeks after Ambassador Bridge owner Matthew Moroun donated $1 million to a Trump-linked super PAC and hours after Moroun met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to The New York Times. In early June, an opening ceremony was scheduled then scrapped at the last minute after the Trump administration’s objections.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement Friday that the bridge is a testament to the enduring partnership between Michigan and Canada.

“The Gordie Howe International Bridge has always been a great deal for our state. Thousands of Michigan workers built this critical bridge, which will speed up auto production, lower costs, ease traffic, strengthen agriculture, and give people on both sides of the border better-paying jobs and brighter futures,” Whitmer said.

The vehicle toll for the bridge was set at $8 CAD or $5.75 USD per crossing, the WDBA and Bridging North America announced in March in a move to continue toward its opening despite Trump’s threats.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/transportation/cdb-gordie-howe-sets-opening-date-20260710/

[DetroitMan]

Federal approval advances I-375 project, now on track for 2027 construction

The Michigan Department of Transportation and Downtown Detroit Partnership announced Wednesday that MDOT has secured a key approval to move forward with the Interstate 375 boulevard project after plans changed last year.

The Federal Highway Administration has approved the MDOT traffic analysis, paving the way for the project to advance into the planning and design phase.MDOT plans to fill in I-375 in downtown Detroit and turn the freeway into a boulevard. Federal approval keeps the project on target to begin construction in 2027. It was previously slated to begin construction in the fall of 2025.

MDOT had announced in August 2025 that it would be pausing the project “due to rising costs, longevity of the final project and roadway, and public concern over design elements,” Crain’s previously reported.

The proposed project initially faced steep public criticism, including that it would leave the community more disconnected than it is and increase traffic in nearby neighborhoods. The project is a sensitive one, as the initial construction of the freeway in 1964 caused the demolition of predominantly Black neighborhoods in the city. Eventually, then-Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan withdrew from backing the project and the business community followed suit, ultimately leading to MDOT’s pause.

In November 2025, project partners, including MDOT, DDP and the Kresge Foundation, unveiled the new plan for the project, which would be completed in three phases, allowing more time for community feedback on design and land use.

What began as a $350 million project escalated to a cost of approximately $520 million as the organizations integrated community feedback into the designs, Jason Garza, deputy region engineer for MDOT’s metro region, said during the November public meeting.

“Pending all approvals, construction is anticipated to begin in summer 2027 on the section between Gratiot Avenue and Jefferson Avenue. Design and construction north of Gratiot Avenue, including the I-75/I-375 interchange, is currently unfunded and will be addressed at a future date,” MDOT said in the announcement.

Garza estimated the I-75 interchange and portion north of Gratiot Avenue to be about 10 years out.

Roughly eight acres of land — about the size of six football fields — will be made available by filling in the sunken highway during the first phase of a new three-phase approach to the project. The initial phase of the project would raise the sunken freeway to street level between Jefferson and Gratiot avenues, starting after the 2027 Detroit Grand Prix.

According to a timeline shared by MDOT, construction to replace the Dequindre Cut bridge will begin in fall 2026 and be completed in spring 2028.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/transportation/cdb-i-375-project-gets-federal-approval-20260714/

[ardecila]

Nice. I hope they bring back the Hastings St name for the new boulevard.

It still looks like it was designed by engineers though. All kinds of weird right turn lanes everywhere, the sidewalks are not a consistent width, etc. Not really the kind of urban boulevard that can anchor a real neighborhood. Octavia Blvd in SF is a good example - and it was created after a freeway was removed. The east side of the street is all infill where part of the freeway used to be, similar to 375 on a smaller scale.

[Busy Bee]

Remember when American city planners and civil engineers just instinctively knew how to design geometrically grand and symmetrical boulevards? This is unsettling confirmation that is unfortunately no longer the case.

[Six Corners]

Agree there's no mistaking it was designed by a state department of transportation where aesthetics and urban design are secondarily important. But when it comes to urban highway removal, I'm personally cool with not letting perfect be the enemy of good. Trying to get any state DOT to agree to convert a divided highway into a boulevard is no easy feat.

[Busy Bee]

...where aesthetics and urban design are secondarily important.

It's not secondarily important, they just fundamentally don't understand it.

[DetroitMan]

$25M Federal Grant Will Bring Major Transit Upgrades to Detroit’s Gratiot Avenue Corridor

A major stretch of Gratiot Avenue that serves thousands of daily bus riders across Detroit and Macomb County is set to receive significant transit and pedestrian improvements after the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) secured a $25 million federal grant.

The funding, awarded through the federal Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program, will support SMART’s Gratiot SMART Spaces Implementation Project, a 23-mile corridor improvement initiative designed to make bus service safer, faster and more accessible from St. Antoine Street in Detroit to 23 Mile Road in Macomb County.

The project includes improvements at 19 transit stations and will introduce new pedestrian safety features, upgraded passenger amenities and traffic enhancements intended to improve reliability for riders who depend on one of Southeast Michigan’s busiest transit corridors.

SMART officials said the grant reflects years of investment in regional transit and collaboration among local, state and federal partners.

“For the rider waiting on Gratiot in January, this grant means a warm shelter, a crossing that is safe to use, and a bus that arrives when the sign says it will,” said Tiffany J. Gunter, SMART’s CEO and general manager. “Our drivers, planners, and community partners have built a system worth investing in. This award is proof that when we invest local dollars in that system, we can bring federal dollars home to match them.”

SMART also credited Michigan’s congressional delegation, including U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, for supporting federal transit funding that helped secure the award.

The Gratiot Avenue corridor has experienced significant public and private investment in recent years, particularly within Detroit. Along portions of the corridor near Eastern Market and downtown, new residential developments, retail businesses, restaurants and commercial projects have reshaped long-vacant properties. The opening of developments such as the City Modern neighborhood, continued expansion around Eastern Market, improvements near the Rivertown district and new small businesses along the lower Gratiot corridor have increased activity while bringing more residents and workers to the area. Streetscape improvements, roadway reconstruction and investments tied to neighborhood revitalization have also contributed to renewed growth along sections of the avenue.

https://michiganchronicle.com/25m-federa...des-to-detroits-gratiot-avenue-corridor/

[animatedmartian]

Gordie Howe Bridge officially open. Plenty videos of those driving across it today. From booth to booth is about 10 minutes of driving.

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