Situated in southeastern Michigan, Livonia is a city of more than 90,000 residents located less than 20 miles from downtown Detroit. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), along with general contractor Dan’s Excavating, is currently advancing the M-14/I-96 project in Livonia.
The project is taking place in a crowded, busy area used for multiple purposes, including light industrial, commercial, and residential. The key route enables all types of traffic to navigate the area and reach Detroit and nearby Ann Arbor, home to the University of Michigan.
The current average daily traffic (ADT) along M-14 is between 61,000 and 64,000 vehicles, with a 20-year projected ADT of 67,000 to 70,000 vehicles. Approximately 9 percent of the traffic is commercial.
“The M-14 freeway has experienced significant pavement distresses in recent years resulting in costly annual maintenance and inconvenience to the motoring public at increasing frequencies,” said Dave Harris, MDOT’s Senior Construction Contracts Engineer.
Maintaining satisfactory driving conditions on the roadway has been time-consuming and costly for MDOT.
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“The underlying concrete pavement below the asphalt surface has experienced significant deterioration that was continuously requiring repairs at the surface level for safety and durability,” Harris said.
“As the pavement continues to deteriorate, required maintenance fixes become more and more substantial and the frequency in which the repairs are needed also increases,” he added. “In addition, given that the existing facility is a depressed section of roadway in an area that experienced significant growth in the years since the roadway was constructed, the existing drainage system was inadequate and needed upgrading.”
The M-14/I-96 project is impacting the corridor in multiple ways that will affect the drive and safety of the route.
The main element of the project is the full removal and replacement of the roadway. The new pavement structure consists of 12 inches of high-performance concrete pavement over a 16-inch drainage course layer.
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The nearly 4.5-mile project area includes intersection ramps with local roadways as well as the M-14/I-96/I-275 interchange ramps that were not reconstructed with previous projects.
This project includes capital preventive maintenance, deck replacement, and rehabilitation work at 17 structures. One of the structures, M-14 eastbound/westbound, is over the Rouge River.
“The scope of work at each bridge varies,” Harris said, “but the project includes resealing bridge joints, substructure concrete patching, concrete deck patching, epoxy overlay, slope protection repair, bridge expansion joint replacement, structural steel repairs, heat straightening beam repair, partial steel painting, crack injection, concrete barrier patching, bridge barrier wall replacement, and one bridge deck replacement of the Schoolcraft over M-14 bridge.”
The reconstruction of the roadway has given MDOT the opportunity to address needed drainage system improvements.
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“The existing drainage system is currently unable to properly handle the surface runoff for this area, due to significant development and community growth since the time of construction of the original roadway,” Harris said.
The team is installing a new system capable of increased collection of surface runoff. In addition, the Tramps Hollow Drain was substantially upgraded in size.
Two major project elements, freeway lighting replacement and new ITS technology, will improve safety in the corridor. The lighting work spans the full project area.
“Given the roadway is being reconstructed, the existing freeway lighting that is impacted must also be replaced with upgraded power services,” Harris said. “The project is also adding freeway lighting west of the M-14/I-96/I-275 interchange, where it currently does not exist, to enhance driver visibility and safety.”
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The ITS components, including conduit, fiber, and CCTV cameras within the reconstruction limits, are being installed.
“The cameras will help MDOT monitor the M-14 corridor for traffic and safety concerns since there are no cameras present currently,” Harris said. “The ITS fiber and conduit runs along the whole length of the project, and the cameras are installed at three different locations throughout the 4-mile stretch.”
The project will also benefit bicyclists. The team is reconstructing a section of the I-275 Metro Trail, which was originally constructed in the mid-1970s. According to the Michigan Trails & Greenways Alliance website, “the I-275 Metro Trail is a 40-mile connector highway around the west side of Metro Detroit. ... [The trail] is a well-used attraction for walkers and cyclists.”
M-14 in Livonia has three lanes in each direction, but there are times during construction when it reduces to one lane in each direction. During the 2025 construction season, work took place on eastbound M-14, so traffic was shifted to westbound M-14.
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In 2026, eastbound and westbound traffic will be shifted to the reconstructed eastbound section of M-14.
There are also multiple detours due to construction. The detours and road closures are fluid. MDOT created an interactive map to assist commuters and keep them up to speed on changes.
The busy area has created other challenges for the team.
“Managing the ingress and egress of large volumes of construction equipment and materials necessary to reconstruct a multi-lane freeway while also maintaining high volumes of localized and long-distance commuter traffic — including maintaining a major freeway-to-freeway interchange — has been a significant challenge,” Harris said.
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“Another challenge faced by the project office was managing installation of a larger and deeper storm sewer system in close proximity to the live traffic moving through the work zone,” he added.
CSX railroad crosses over M-14 via an overpass at the west end, just south of the project area.
“We had to coordinate with the railroad to facilitate installation of the deep sewer excavations underneath the railroad bridge and in close proximity to the center pier foundation,” Harris said.
The team has faced other challenges, such as conflicts with existing utilities.
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Headquartered in Shelby Township, Michigan, Dan’s Excavating Inc. is a major contractor in the state and they partner with MDOT regularly. The general contractor handled the earthwork and drainage system work.
Dan’s Excavating partnered with Ajax Paving for the construction of the concrete pavement and with C.A. Hull Company for the rehabilitation of the bridges. Both contractors have also worked with MDOT on many projects over the years.
“The combination of these firms’ resources and their long-standing positive working relationship toward achieving the same project goals has propelled the project,” Harris said.
They have also helped the team overcome any issues that have arisen on the project.
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“All the challenges were met with a partnering approach in order to maintain the overall project schedule as a major commitment to the communities to complete the project on time,” Harris said.
Construction on the project began in spring 2024 and is scheduled to conclude at the end of 2026. The project is currently on schedule. Once again, Harris credited this achievement to the continued partnership approach.
“It has helped us mitigate conflicts expeditiously while maintaining quality and meeting specifications,” he said.
The construction budget is $139 million. “There have been some extras due to unforeseen conflicts,” Harris said. “However, the project is only approximately 50 percent complete at this time, and we’re hopeful to remain within contingency.”
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The Rebuilding Michigan Program is providing most of the funding — $82.5 million. The project was included in the plan because it provides a substantial fix on a key corridor. The remainder of the funding is a mixture of federal (around 33 percent) and state funds (7 percent).
When the M-14/I-96 project in Livonia is completed, the corridor will be brought up to current standards and expected to last more than 35 years. MDOT resources will be freed up and able to attend to other trouble spots. The frequent inconveniences the motoring public experienced over the last several years will be gone.
“This facility improves the local traffic commutes greatly [and] enhances the long-distance travelers — both vehicular and statewide commerce — due to the interconnection with the I-96 and I-275 major freeways,” Harris said. “Given that the adjoining I-275 and I-96 freeways also received a reconstruction over the past recent years, the reconstructed M-14 freeway is the last piece of the puzzle for the department’s ‘bigger picture’ investment for this area.”
- Owner: Michigan Department of Transportation
- General Contractor: Dan’s Excavating Inc., Shelby Township, Michigan
- Designer: Michael Baker International, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Other Contractors: C.A. Hull Company, Commerce, Michigan; Ajax Paving, Troy, Michigan Photos copyrighted by Michigan Department of Transportation
