MDOT Shares View of Plaza
Reconstruction Over 696 in Oak Park
(C. Proxmire, May 26, 2016)
Oak Park, MI – As the rebuilding of a plaza and community park goes on above, cars zoom along underneath on I-696 without most drivers realizing that a large project is happening over them. MDOT is redoing the plaza because of drainage issues and the danger of the large icicles that form in the tunnel below the park. The land is now cleared, and an aerial photo posted by The Michigan Department of Transportation’s Facebook page shows how large the area is compared to the work trucks on it and the cars below.
According to a pamphlet presented at an open house in March, work includes “removing everything above the bridge beams, including all of the dirt, sidewalks, parking lot, Church Street, trees, lights and the play structure. A concrete cap will be constructed on top of the existing bridge beams, which will include a waterproofing layer. A drainage tile system will be installed on top of the waterproofed cap prior to placement of a special soil mix that will allow water to drain through it.
“New sidewalks, parking lot, lighting, Church Street pavement, play structure, and landscaping and trees will be constructed and installed to complete the plaza work.”
The plaza is closed during the reconstruction and pedestrians are directed to the Z02 plaza, which is west of Z03.
The project is expected to be completed in mid-November, apart from some springtime planting. Read more at https://oaklandcounty115.com/2016/03/30/mdot-shares-i-696-plaza-reconstruction-plans-in-oak-park/.
Click photo for full size. Photo courtesy MDOT.
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