I-96 Construction Project On Target For Mid-October Completion

LIVONIA (WWJ) - This will come as welcome news to thousands of commuters: officials say a major freeway construction project in the Detroit area that's requiring motorists to take detours is on schedule.

Mid-October is the projected re-open date for the I-96 freeway says MDOT's Jeff Horn, saying the I-96 fix, is on schedule.

Logan Orr, salesperson with Teknicolors Paints, located on Beech Daly and Schoolcraft says he thinks they will meet the deadline.

"They've already got landscaping at Levan - they've already got the light poles laid out - ready to go - they are way ahead of schedule in my viewpoint - of course they'll never say that, but I think they are going to hit the October 31 deadline ... they'll even be a couple of weeks early."

Orr says that since folks are moving slowly on the service drive - he believes his business has new customers discovering him.

Orr says his sales have held steady during the construction, although a neighboring business says their sales are down almost 60 percent.

Sam Matalka owns a Sunoco gas station along the freeway stretch of construction: "Since April my sales have dropped $36,000," laments Matalka.

The $148 million project to rebuild the roadway also includes bridge repair and replacement work.