MDOT: I-696 Weekend Closure Cancelled Due To Extreme Heat

DETROIT (WWJ) - A freeway repair project in Oakland County has been delayed due to the heat wave.

The Michigan Department of Transportation says the closure of eastbound I-696 in Farmington Hills this weekend has been cancelled because it is too hot for concrete pouring.

MDOT spokeswoman Diane Cross said because northbound I-275 will be closed, with less traffic connecting to eastbound I-696, it otherwise would have been the perfect time to do about ten miles of cement patchwork in that area.

But, she explained, due to the high temperatures it's just not going to work.

"...You put that product in a metal tin — which we all see them rolling down the road right — 100 degrees, metal, so it's already heating up," Cross told WWJ's Laura Bonnell.

"The external temperature is also zapping a lot of that moisture out of the concrete, and then when they go to pour it it's just not going to be the quality product that we need," she said. "So the idea is — this kind of heat, we're not going to do any work that involves the setting or the pouring of concrete." (A Heat Advisory remains in effect for all of southeast Michigan until 10 p.m. Friday).

There are some other lane closures happening this weekend on I-94 near Trumbull, but that work involves crews removing the temporary concrete barrier and re-striping the freeway lanes.

The eastbound I-696 patch work project has been rescheduled for next weekend, beginning Friday, July 29. The closure will be between the I-275/I-96/M-5 interchange and Orchard Lake Road.

Meantime, northbound I-275 remains closed from the I-96/M-14 interchange to I-96/I-696/M-5 until mid-September. [View the project map].

For more on construction projects jamming things up in metro Detroit, tune to WWJ Newsradio 950 during traffic and weather on the 8s, 24 hours-a-day. Get the latest now on our real-time traffic page.

[Heat Wave Going Strong, Temps To Feel Warmer Than 100° Friday]