By: Taylor Christensen | Royal Oak Review | Published February 23, 2026
ROYAL OAK — Planned ramp closures at the Interstate 696 and Interstate 75 interchange will begin Feb. 28 as part of the next phase of the multiyear I-696 Restore the Reuther project.
In a press release from the Michigan Department of Transportation, work on the I-696/I-75 ramps will require rebuilding the ramp base, drainage and pavement, as well as bridge improvements.
Ramp closures will have different closure durations and detours, with all ramp work expected to be completed by early summer.
‘These ramp closures will impact tens of thousands of drivers who normally drive the interchange and will be in place for a few months,” Diane Cross, of MDOT communications, said via email. “Drivers should watch for signs leading them to the detours but also know more than one way to get to their destination should there be extra delays. Plan on extra travel time to take the detours and any delays along the routes.”
Through early summer, the westbound I-696 ramp to southbound I-75 will be closed and detoured via southbound M-53 (Van Dyke Avenue) and westbound M-102 (Eight Mile Road) to southbound I-75.
Also through early summer, the westbound I-696 ramp to northbound I-75 will be closed and detoured via northbound M-53 and westbound M-59 to northbound I-75.
The northbound I-75 ramp to westbound I-696 will be closed and detoured via westbound M-102 and northbound M-10 to westbound I-696 through early summer.
“It shouldn’t have as much of an impact as the closing of I-75 did. The biggest effect that those closures are going to have is just going to increase our traffic on 11 Mile, which has already been pretty heavy since this project has started,” said Patrick Stanton, Royal Oak deputy chief of police. “I would anticipate eastbound 11 Mile will continue to be a very heavily traveled road throughout the course of this project.”
The closings shouldn’t affect the businesses either, according to Stanton, who said that people will still have access to Royal Oak businesses throughout this project.
In early April to early summer, the southbound I-75 ramp to westbound I-696 will be closed and detoured via westbound M-102 and northbound M-10 to westbound I-696.
According to the press release, the northbound and southbound I-75 ramps to eastbound I-696 remain open.
The eastbound I-696 ramps to northbound and southbound I-75 that were closed last year will stay closed until the project’s completion.
Eastbound I-696 remains closed and detoured from M-10 to I-75 through 2026 with westbound I-696 traffic now shifted to the newly rebuilt eastbound side near the I-75 interchange.
All westbound ramps will remain closed except for M-1 (Woodward Avenue) Exit 16, Southfield Road Exit 12, and the shared Exit 10 ramp for US-24/M-10/Lahser Road. Once the I-696/I-75 ramps have reopened, they will remain open for the rest of the year.
Stanton said that residents should prepare for the ramp closures by planning ahead.
“If that’s a normal route you take, you should give yourself more time for travel,” he said. “But the biggest thing is to think about what route you want to take ahead of time. … You have to remember that you’re not the only one out there doing it, that there are other people trying to avoid that closure as well, so there’s going to be certain roads that are just going to be heavier traffic.”
The city of Royal Oak is preparing for these closures by communicating to the public and ensuring that the lights are going off efficiently, according to Stanton.
“We continue to push out information on our socials and all of our other information-sharing sites,” he said. “One thing we have done as a city is our traffic engineering department has done a lot of work at checking and verifying the timing of the lights along 11 Mile Road to make sure that the lights are operating in the most efficient manner possible for traffic flow.”
The final phase of the Restore the Reuther project involves completing the rebuilding of I-696 in 2026, and then next year I-696 will have major roadwork between I-75 and Dequindre Road, the MDOT press release states. That work next year will include rebuilding the roadway, bridge improvements and drainage structures.
For more information on road closures, visit michigan.gov/mdot.