Trees, deer habitat cleared by road project
A large, wooded area along Interstate 94 near Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus has been reduced to stumps, small logs and twigs to make way for the Restore 94 road project.
The formerly wooded area in the median in the area of Inkster and Ecorse roads was home to a large deer population but has been taken “down to the dirt” as rebuilding of the freeway is under way, according to Diane Cross of the Michigan Department of Transportation. Signs now caution drivers to be cautious of deer in the area but no increase in deer-related crashes have been reported, she said. Wildlife behavior in the area was considered during the planning of the reconstruction, according to Cross.
The Restore I-94 project is a 3-year, $353 million, 12.7-mile construction effort that began early this month to rehabilitate the I-94 corridor from Romulus (east of I-275) to Dearborn (west of U.S. 12/Michigan Avenue. Motorists have been advised to expect significant delays, with traffic reduced to two lanes in each direction through 2029.
The Romulus area is part of "Segment 1," specifically focusing on the stretch between Wayne Road and Middlebelt Road, officials said.
The rebuilding will include bridge work, drainage improvements, and a new Ecorse Road interchange.
Officials said access to Detroit Metro Airport will be maintained throughout the project using Merriman or Middlebelt roads as well as I-275 and Eureka Road.
Cross said more than 100,000 drivers use the freeway daily and the reconstruction will reroute part of the aging roadway through what was the wooded area, requiring the removal of the trees. The trees will be replaced when the construction is complete, Cross said.
“We are putting back 3,000 trees once the project is done,” Cross said. “They will be along the outside lanes because we want the trees to help absorb the fumes coming off the freeway and help with noise, that kind of thing.”
According to Cross, the planting of the replacement trees is intended, in part, to discourage a large deer population from reestablishing itself immediately next to the roadway.
