The agency completed an environmental assessment, available to view online. Interested Washtenaw and Wayne county community members can provide comments about the assessment at an upcoming public hearing.
The public participation sessions are scheduled for 10 to 11:30 a.m., 1 to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 2, in Van Buren Township Hall, 46425 Tyler Road.
The proposed corridor would stretch 40 miles from Ann Arbor Saline Road in Ann Arbor to M-10, the Lodge Freeway, in Detroit, repurposing one travel lane in each direction on the highway with equipment meant to interact with connected and automated vehicle technology, an effort unveiled in 2020.
The new environmental report examines such topics as socioeconomic conditions and environmental justice, traffic, indirect impacts — such as traffic diversion — and natural resources like wetlands.
The proposed project could come with lower greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, according to the assessment. The lanes would lower congestion, improve flow, and raise average speeds. The report also asserts the lane could encourage the use of newer, more fuel-efficient or zero-emissions vehicles.
The project would take place along many areas where 40% or more of the population are considered disadvantaged under Environmental Protection Agency standards, which consider variables including low income, high or persistent poverty, high unemployment and underemployment, racial and ethnic residential segregation, linguistic isolation, high housing cost burden and substandard housing.
An assistance program will be developed to provide discounts for low-income drivers to use the lane in the future, after a user fee is put in place. User fees would not go into effect until they receive both state and federal approvals.
While the project isn’t expected to have a significant impact on the surrounding communities, potential traffic diversion from I-94 into low-income and minority neighborhoods will be reviewed two, five and 10 years after the user fees are in place, the report says.
Compensatory mitigation is required for unavoidable wetland impacts on a potential 50.2 acre area. However, it’s expected that most of these areas will be deemed man-made, roadside ditches that aren’t regulated by state and federal standards. The absence of those areas could reduce the total amount of wetland impacts to less than five acres.
Compensatory mitigation measures can involve the restoration, establishment or enhancement of wetlands, streams and other aquatic resources, according to the EPA.
The proposed project will be completed in segments starting from Wiard Road to Wayne Road, according to the report.
The lanes will likely be physically separated from the rest of the highway and accessible only at certain points. At the start of the project, all vehicles will be able to use them, but as self-driving vehicles become more common and their usage exceeds a certain threshold, the lanes may be restricted to only the high-tech vehicles, according to a MDOT webpage detailing the project.
Construction of the project is expected to be fully funded by Cavnue, a private company.
A pilot project covering a three mile stretch of I-94 has been underway since May. Evenly spaced metal poles rising from the median and a row of white delineators line the leftmost lane of I-94 West between Belleville and Rawsonville roads.
The pilot project involved placing the dividers separating the express lane traffic, installing improved pavement markings and guardrails, completing a high-friction surface treatment and positioning new lighting, officials said. The poles erected in the median are outfitted with cameras, radar sensors and wireless radio equipment meant to communicate with technology-enabled vehicles.
Officials say no personal data is being collected, and all the testing is meant to evaluate safety and mobility technologies. The pilot is anticipated to operate through December 2025 , according to MDOT.
Comments on the environmental assessment can be emailed to [email protected] or submitted online. Feedback can also be mailed to Monica Monsma at Van Wagoner Transportation Building B245, 425 W. Ottawa St., Lansing, MI , 48933.
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