The Michigan Department of Transportation is planning a three-year project to rebuild
I-94 from west of the interchange with I-94 Business Loop, known locally as Red Arrow Highway,
to Britain Avenue. This project is funded with Rebuilding Michigan bond funds and combines
several projects for efficiency and cost savings. This section of I-94 is a six-lane divided freeway
with an annual average daily traffic volume of 63,000 vehicles. This project involves rebuilding
approximately 11 miles of freeway, replacing four bridges, and improving seven additional bridges.
The total investment for this project is estimated to be more than $153 million.
Maintenance work to prepare for the main project will occur in 2022, while major work
activities are expected to begin in 2023 and conclude in 2024. The project will start just
west of Britain Avenue and will occur at the Napier Avenue and Pipestone Road interchanges…
…as well as M-139 and M-63, or Niles Avenue. Major work also will occur at the I-94
Business Loop interchange and finish at Puetz Road.
Work on I-94 will replace the aging pavement with new asphalt. There also will be improvements to
drainage, and all signs and guardrail will be replaced. In addition, an auxiliary lane
will be added on eastbound I-94 connecting the Pipestone Road and Napier Avenue interchanges.
All ramps at the I-94 Business Loop, M-63 and Pipestone Road interchanges will be rebuilt.
The ramps at the M-139 and Napier Avenue interchanges will be repaved.
Minor repairs will be made to the carpool lot on M-139, while the carpool lot at I-94
Business Loop will be resurfaced and expanded to accommodate more vehicles. Several bridges along
the corridor will be worked on during this project. The I-94 bridges over Pipestone Road
and I-94 Business Loop will be rebuilt. The I-94 bridges over Lincoln Avenue, the CSX Railroad
and the Saint Joseph River will be repaired, as will the Washington Avenue bridge over I-94.
Additionally, a large culvert carrying the Yore-Stauffer Drain, located near Pipestone
Road, will be replaced. This project includes major interchange work. All the ramps at the Pipestone
Road interchange will be rebuilt, and the westbound off ramp will be realigned to improve traffic flow
at the Pipestone Road/Mall Drive intersection. On eastbound I-94, a continuous weave-merge lane,
also called an auxiliary lane, will be added to connect the Pipestone Road on ramp to the Napier
Avenue off ramp. The I-94 bridges over Pipestone Road will be replaced, as well as the culvert
carrying the Yore-Stauffer Drain under I-94 just to the east of Pipestone Road. Under the bridges,
Pipestone Road will be rebuilt, and sidewalks will be added through the interchange area.
All the ramps at the M-63, or Niles Avenue, interchange will be rebuilt.
A new ramp will be added to carry northbound M-63 traffic to eastbound I-94, eliminating the
need for northbound M-63 traffic to make a left turn onto the existing loop ramp.
All the ramps will be rebuilt at the interchange with I-94 Business Loop, also called Red Arrow
Highway. The intersection of the eastbound I-94 ramp to southbound Red Arrow Highway
will be realigned to improve sight distance for right-turning traffic.
At the eastbound on-ramp, a splitter island will be added to separate northbound Red Arrow Highway
traffic continuing north from the traffic turning onto the eastbound ramp. This improvement should
make it easier for southbound Red Arrow Highway traffic to find a gap to turn onto the eastbound
ramp. The I-94 bridges over Red Arrow Highway will be rebuilt. Additional improvements include
adding sidewalk along the west side of Red Arrow Highway from West Marquette Woods Road to Saint
Joseph Avenue, and repaving and expanding the carpool lot in the northwest quadrant.