Examine individual changes

'{{Short description|Interstate Highway in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, United States}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}} {{Infobox road |state=MI |type=I |route=375 |alternate_name=Walter P. Chrysler Freeway |spur_type=I |spur_of=75 |map={{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-height=290|frame-lat=42.336|frame-long=-83.039|zoom=14|type=line|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Wikipedia KML/Interstate 375 (Michigan)}}}} |map_custom=yes |map_notes=I-375 highlighted in red, BS I-375 in green |length_mi=1.062 |length_ref=<ref name="PRFA"/> |established= {{start date|1964|06|12}}<ref name="aashto"/> |direction_a=South |terminus_a={{Jct|state=MI|BS|375|dab1=Detroit|noshield1=yes}} in [[Detroit]] |direction_b=North |terminus_b={{Jct|state=MI|I|75}} in Detroit |counties=[[Wayne County, Michigan|Wayne]] |previous_type=M |previous_route=343 |next_type=I |next_route=475 }} '''Interstate&nbsp;375''' ('''I-375''') is a north–south [[auxiliary Interstate Highway]] in the city of [[Detroit]], Michigan, United States. It is the southernmost leg of the [[Walter P. Chrysler Freeway]] and a spur of [[Interstate 75 in Michigan|I-75]] into [[Downtown Detroit]], ending at the unsigned [[#Business spur|Business Spur I-375]] (BS I-375), better known as [[Jefferson Avenue (Detroit)|Jefferson Avenue]]. The freeway opened on June 12, 1964. At only {{convert|1.062|mi|km}} in length, it once had the distinction of being the shortest signed [[Interstate Highway]] in the country before [[Interstate 110 (Texas)|I-110]] in [[El Paso, Texas]], was signed. The [[Michigan Department of Transportation]] (MDOT) announced in 2013 that it may remove I-375 in the future, and in 2021 the department announced plans to move forward converting the freeway to a boulevard. ==Route description== I-375 and the Chrysler Freeway begin at Jefferson Avenue between St. Antoine Street and Beaubien Street in Downtown Detroit near the [[Renaissance Center]].<ref name=greenwood2006-05-10>{{cite news |first = Tom |last = Greenwood |title = Both Directions of I-375 in Detroit Will Close Today |work = [[The Detroit News]] |date = May 10, 2006 |page = 2A |issn = 1055-2715 |oclc = 137348716 }}</ref> The freeway runs east before turning north. Just about a mile (1.6&nbsp;km) after the southern terminus, I-375 meets the Fisher Freeway which carries I-75 north of downtown. At this interchange, I-75 takes ramps to leave the Fisher Freeway and use the Chrysler Freeway, replacing I-375. I-375 is a four-lane freeway south of the I-75 interchange, where it widens to six lanes.<ref name=MDOT13D>{{cite MDOT map |year = 2013 |inset = Downtown |section = H13 }}</ref> The entire length of I-375 is included on the [[National Highway System (United States)|National Highway System]],<ref name=NHS-D>{{cite map |url = http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/maps/mi/detroit_mi.pdf |title = National Highway System: Detroit, MI |author = Federal Highway Administration |author-link = Federal Highway Administration |scale = Scale not given |location = Washington, DC |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |date = August 2003 |access-date = November 13, 2010 |format = PDF |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111028112916/http://www.fhwa.dot.gov//planning/nhs/maps/mi/detroit_mi.pdf |archive-date = October 28, 2011 }}</ref> a network of roadways that are important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.<ref name=NHS>{{cite web |first1 = Stefan |last1 = Natzke |first2 = Mike |last2 = Neathery |first3 = Kevin |last3 = Adderly |name-list-style = amp |title = What is the National Highway System? |url = http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/ |work = National Highway System |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |date = June 26, 2013 |access-date = July 1, 2013 }}</ref> According to [[Michigan Department of Transportation|MDOT]], I-375 is {{convert|1.062|mi|km}}.<ref name="PRFA"/> At the time it opened until at least 2007, I-375 was the shortest signed Interstate in the country.<ref name="aashto"/> Based on [[Federal Highway Administration]] (FHWA) data, there are three Interstates that are shorter: [[Interstate 110 (Texas)|I-110]] in Texas ({{convert|0.92|mi|km|disp=or|abbr=on}}), [[Interstate 878|I-878]] in New York ({{convert|0.70|mi|km|disp=or|abbr=on}}), and [[Interstate 315|I-315]] in Montana ({{convert|0.83|mi|km|disp=or|abbr=on}}).<ref name="fhwa">{{cite web |author = Federal Highway Administration |url = http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/routefinder/table2.htm |title = Table 2: Auxiliary Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways as of October 31, 2002 |work = Route Log and Finder List |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |date = October 31, 2002 |access-date = March 25, 2010 |oclc = 47914009 }}</ref> The latter two designations are not signed on their respective roadways,<ref name=RMN13>{{cite book |author = Rand McNally |author-link = Rand McNally |year = 2013 |title = The Road Atlas |location = Chicago |publisher = Rand McNally |edition = 2013 Walmart |isbn = 0-528-00626-6 |oclc = 773666955 }} *"Montana" (Map). 1:190,080. pp. 60–1. Great Falls inset. § N16. *"New York: New York City" (Map). 1:126,720. pp. 72–3. New York City & Vicinity inset. §§ J13–14. </ref> and I-110 in Texas has since been signed.<ref>{{cite sign |author = Texas Department of Transportation |author-link = Texas Department of Transportation |year = 2010 |url = https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interstate-110-El-Paso.jpg |title = I-110, US&nbsp;54, I-10 and US&nbsp;180 |type = Highway guide sign |location = El Paso, TX |publisher = Texas Department of Transportation |access-date = April 11, 2014 }}</ref> Every year, MDOT conducts a series of surveys on its highways in the state to measure traffic volume. In 2009, MDOT calculated that 14,112&nbsp;vehicles per day used the southernmost section of I-375 [[average annual daily traffic|on average]] and 53,900&nbsp;vehicles used the northernmost section near I-75. These vehicles included 798&nbsp;trucks.<ref name="TMIS">{{cite web |author = Bureau of Transportation Planning |url = http://mdotnetpublic.state.mi.us/tmispublic/ |title = Traffic Monitoring Information System |publisher = Michigan Department of Transportation |year = 2008 |access-date = November 13, 2010 }}</ref> ==History== Construction on the first segments of the Chrysler Freeway started on January 30, 1959.<ref name=barnett>{{cite book |last = Barnett |first = LeRoy |title = A Drive Down Memory Lane: The Named State and Federal Highways of Michigan |location = Allegan Forest, Michigan |publisher = Priscilla Press |year = 2004 |page = 233 |isbn = 1-886167-24-9 |oclc = 57425393 }}</ref> The area where the freeway was built was called [[Black Bottom, Detroit|Black Bottom]], a historic district that received its name from the soil found there by French explorers.<ref>{{cite book |last = Binelli |first = Mark |title = Detroit City Is the Place to Be: The Afterlife of an American Metropolis |publisher = Metropolitan Books |location = New York |year = 2012 |isbn = 978-0-8050-9229-5 |oclc = 753631067 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YlLyr7hX25IC&pg=PA20 |page = 20 |via = [[Google Books]] }}</ref> In the 1940s and 1950s, the area was home to a community of African-American entrepreneurs and businesses that rivaled [[Harlem]] in New York City. Black Bottom was one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, and, at the time of freeway construction, it had wooden sewers and dilapidated buildings.<ref name=gallagher2013-12-15/> In the 1950s and 1960s, many lower-class African-American residents lived in overcrowded and run-down housing in Black Bottom. These residents could not afford to maintain their homes because of their low income, leading outsiders to view the area as neglected and in need of updating and development.<ref>{{cite book |last1 = Sugrue |first1 = Thomas J. |year = 1996 |title = The Origins of the Urban Crisis |location = Princeton, New Jersey |publisher = Princeton University Press |isbn = 0-691-12186-9 }}{{page needed|date=November 2019}}</ref> The area, like [[Corktown, Detroit|Corktown]] to the west of downtown, was targeted by urban planners for urban renewal and infrastructure improvements in the 1950s and 1960s, which included the Chrysler Freeway and public housing projects.<ref name=gallagher2013-12-15>{{cite news |last = Gallagher |first = John |date = December 15, 2013 |title = When Detroit Paved over Paradise: The Story of I-375 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21827991/when_detroit_paved_over_paradise/ |work = [[Detroit Free Press]] |pages = 17A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21828026/when_detroit_paved_over_paradise_part/ 18A] |issn = 1055-2758 |id = {{oclc|10345127| 137343179}} |access-date = July 13, 2018 |via = [[Newspapers.com]] }}</ref> In the case of the construction of the Chrysler Freeway, some of the most crucial entertainment and cultural communities in Detroit, Black Bottom, and Paradise Valley were destroyed.<ref name= vejendla >{{Cite news |last = Vejendla |first = Nithin |date = July 5, 2020 |title = Freeways Are Detroit's Most Enduring Monuments to Racism. Let's Excise Them |department = Opinion |url = https://www.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/2020/07/05/detroit-freeways-racism-segregation-white-flight/5366081002/ |access-date = November 19, 2020 |work = Detroit Free Press }}</ref> On June 12, 1964, a surface street highway/freeway in Detroit that ran north from Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street to the Fisher/Chrysler freeway interchange was opened.<ref name="aashto"/><ref name="TMIS"/> The southernmost segment, built through the Black Bottom neighborhood,<ref name=gallagher/> was designated I-375 at this time.<ref name="aashto"/><ref name="TMIS"/> The freeway cost $50&nbsp;million to build (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|50000000|1964}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|name-list-style=amp}}).<ref name=gallagher>{{cite news |first = John |last = Gallagher |date = November 24, 2013 |title = I-375: Walk? Or Drive? |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21828191/i375_walk_or_drive/ |work = Detroit Free Press |pages = 1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21828264/i375_walk_or_drive_part_2/ 12A] |issn = 1055-2758 |id = {{oclc|10345127| 137343179}} |access-date = July 13, 2018 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> ==Future== In April 2013, MDOT announced that it was studying whether to repair the freeway at a cost of $80&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|80000000|2013}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|name-list-style=amp}}) or convert the freeway south of Gratiot Avenue into a boulevard to reduce maintenance cost. This change would make the area more pedestrian-friendly and bring new developers and residents into the neighborhood. Converting this segment of the freeway and its [[right of way (transportation)|right-of-way]] to a boulevard would free up {{convert|12|acre|ha}} of land for development.<ref>{{cite news |last = Gautz |first = Christ |title = Among Ideas to Revamp I-375: A Boulevard |url = http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20130429/NEWS/304289951/among-ideas-to-revamp-i-375-a-boulevard# |access-date = October 21, 2013 |work = Crain's Detroit Business |date = April 29, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201112030727/https://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20130429/NEWS/304289951/among-ideas-to-revamp-i-375-a-boulevard |archive-date = November 12, 2020 |url-status = dead }}</ref> The department invited businesses and other groups affected by the potential project to participate in the study in November 2013. Advocates of the conversion cite increased pedestrian access and an improved connection between [[Eastern Market, Detroit|Eastern Market]] and downtown as reasons to remove the freeway.<ref name=gallagher/> Also, because the freeway has outdated geometric conditions, such as ramp widths and curvature, the high crash rates and congestion of I-375 are used to support the freeway's removal.<ref name=summary>{{cite web |author = I-375 Advisory Committee |date = September 17, 2019 |title = I-375 Improvement Project Meeting Summary |url = https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdot/MDOT_I-375_LAC_GAC_Meeting_666791_7.pdf |publisher = Michigan Department of Transportation |access-date = November 13, 2019 }}</ref> Some people who live or work along the freeway and in the downtown area note the improved access I-375 provides to the area as reasons to retain the freeway.<ref name=gallagher/> Six alternative proposals for rebuilding I-375 were unveiled by MDOT in June 2014. They ranged in price from $40&nbsp;million to $80&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|40000000|2014}}}}–{{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|80000000|2014}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|name-list-style=amp}}). These options included rebuilding the freeway as is, reducing it to a [[boulevard]] or multiple [[one-way street]]s, or upgrading the existing freeway [[right-of-way (transportation)|right-of-way]]{ to include bike lanes and other pedestrian-friendly features.<ref>{{cite news |first = John |last = Gallagher |date = June 8, 2014 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21828395/reimagining_i375_choose_from_6_ways/ |title = Reimagining I-375: Choose from 6&nbsp;Ways to Rebuild or Replace the Detroit Expressway |work = Detroit Free Press |pages = 1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21828467/reimagining_i375_part_2/ 10A] |issn = 1055-2758 |id = {{oclc|10345127| 137343179}} |access-date = July 13, 2018 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> In January 2016, the department announced that any decision on a course of action would be delayed indefinitely.<ref>{{cite news |first = John |last = Gallagher |date = January 26, 2016 |title = What Next for I-375? Final Decision Delayed |work = Detroit Free Press |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21828586/what_next_for_i375_final_decision/ |pages = 3A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21828632/what_next_for_i375_part_2/ 8A] |issn = 1055-2758 |id = {{oclc|10345127| 137343179}} |access-date = July 13, 2018 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> However, in May 2017, MDOT announced it was going forward with an [[Environmental impact assessment|environmental assessment]] to identify a preferred alternative.<ref>{{cite press release |last1 = Morosi |first1 = Rob |date = n.d. |title = MDOT Hosting Open House to Discuss Next Steps on I-375 Environmental Study in Detroit |url = http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151--410643--,00.html |publisher = Michigan Department of Transportation |access-date = May 9, 2017 }}</ref> In December 2017, the department announced that they were down to two alternatives, both of which involved replacing the freeway with a boulevard.<ref>{{cite news |first = John |last = Gallagher |date = December 5, 2017 |title = MDOT Moving Ahead with Plan to Rip Out I-375 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21828706/mdot_moving_ahead_with_plan_to_rip_out/ |work = Detroit Free Press |pages = 1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21828738/mdot_moving_ahead_with_plan_to_rip_out/ 11A] |issn = 1055-2758 |id = {{oclc|10345127| 137343179}} |access-date = July 13, 2018 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> Both alternatives presented included a four-lane surface boulevard between Gratiot Avenue and Atwater Street.<ref name=summary/> In November 2021, Governor [[Gretchen Whitmer]] requested funding for the project from the [[United States Department of Transportation]] under the newly-created Reconnecting Communities program.<ref name="MetroTimes">{{cite web |last1 = DeVito |first1 = Lee |date = November 24, 2021 |title = Email Print Share Whitmer Requests Federal Funds to Fix the Damn I-375, Citing Its Racist Legacy |url = https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2021/11/24/whitmer-requests-federal-funds-to-fix-the-damn-i-375-citing-its-racist-legacy |website = Detroit Metro Times |access-date = January 4, 2022 }}</ref> On September 15th, 2022, it was announced by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg that the state of Michigan had received a $105M federal grant to remove Interstate 375 and replace it with a surface level street. ==Exit list== {{MIinttop|county=Wayne|location=Detroit|ref=<ref name="PRFA"/>|unnum=yes}} {{MIint |mile=0.000 |road={{jctname|state=MI|BS|375|dir1=south|noshield=yes|name1=[[Jefferson Avenue (Detroit)|Jefferson Avenue]] west|location1=Civic Center}} |notes=Continuation beyond southern terminus }} {{MIint |type=incomplete |mile=0.430 |road=[[Jefferson Avenue (Detroit)|Jefferson Avenue]] east |notes=Southbound exit and northbound entrance }} {{MIint |type=incomplete |mile=0.689 |road=Lafayette Avenue |notes=Southbound exit and northbound entrance }} {{MIint |type=incomplete |mile=0.919 |road={{Jct|state=MI|I|75|dir1=south|city1=Toledo}}<br/>{{Jct|state=MI|M|3|dir1=north|name1=[[Gratiot Avenue]]}} |notes=Northbound exit and southbound entrance; exit&nbsp;51C on I-75 }} {{MIint |type=incomplete |mile=1.062 |mspan=2 |road=Madison Street |notes=Southbound left exit and northbound left entrance }} {{MIint |mile=none |road={{Jct|state=MI|I|75|dir1=north|city1=Flint}} |notes=Northern terminus; exit&nbsp;51C on I-75; [[Chrysler Freeway]] continues north on I-75 }} {{jctbtm|col=4|keys=incomplete}} ==Business spur== {{infobox road small |state=MI |name=Business Spur Interstate 375 |location=[[Detroit]] |formed=1964<ref name="aashto"/> |length_mi=0.167 |length_round=3 |length_ref=<ref name="PRFA">{{cite MDOT PRFA |link = yes |access-date = November 13, 2010 }}</ref> }} The [[unsigned highway|unsigned]] '''Business Spur Interstate&nbsp;375''' ('''BS I-375'''), which is {{convert|0.167|mi|km}} long, continues west on [[Jefferson Avenue (Detroit)|Jefferson Avenue]] from the southern end of I-375, ending at the entrance to the [[Detroit–Windsor Tunnel]] at Randolph Street ([[M-3 (Michigan highway)|M-3]]). Jefferson Avenue past that intersection is [[M-10 (Michigan highway)|M-10]].<ref name="PRFA"/> BS I-375 runs next to the Renaissance Center and under a segment of the [[Detroit People Mover|People Mover]].<ref name=MDOT13D/> This designation was created in 1964.<ref name="aashto">{{cite web |author = American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials |author-link = American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials |url = http://www.interstate50th.org/history/2006-06-12.shtml |title = Today in Interstate History: June 12, 1964 |work = The Interstate is 50 |publisher = American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials |year = 2006 |access-date = March 25, 2010 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20070804221751/http://www.interstate50th.org/history/2006-06-12.shtml |archive-date = August 4, 2007 |url-status = dead }}</ref>{{#tag:ref|The section of Jefferson Avenue that connects I-375 with M-10 is combined with the freeway as I-375 on MDOT [[right-of-way (transportation)|right-of-way]] (ROW) maps that document property transfers and ROW descriptions,<ref>{{cite map |author = Michigan Department of Transportation |location = Lansing |publisher = Michigan Department of Transportation |date = February 11, 2010 |map-url = http://mdotcf.state.mi.us/public/ROWFiles/files/Wayne/sheet173.pdf |map-format = PDF |title = Right-of-Way File Application |map = Wayne County |author2 = Gosselin Group |name-list-style = amp |sheet = 173 |access-date = April 11, 2014 }}</ref> but in the department's ''Physical Reference Finder Application'' the street is marked as BS I-375,<ref name=PRFA/> a designation missing from the official state map for the public.<ref name="MDOT13D"/>|group=lower-alpha}} The 2009 traffic surveys by MDOT reported that 33,376&nbsp;vehicles, including 922&nbsp;trucks, had used BS I-375 on an average day.<ref name="TMIS"/> '''Major junctions'''<br/> {{MIinttop|county=Wayne|location=Detroit|ref=<ref name="PRFA"/>}} {{MIint |mile=0.000 |road={{jct|state=MI|M|10|dir1=north|name1=[[Jefferson Avenue (Detroit)|Jefferson Avenue]] west}}<br/>{{jct|state=MI|M|3|dir1=north|name1=Randolph Street}} |notes=Southern termini of BS I-375, M-3, and M-10; Jefferson Avenue continues west as M-10 }} {{MIint |mile=0.167 |road=[[Jefferson Avenue (Detroit)|Jefferson Avenue]] east<br/>{{Jct|state=MI|I|375|dir1=north|nolink1=yes|to2=to|I|75|city1=Flint}} |notes=Interchange; northern terminus; southern terminus of I-375 }} {{jctbtm|col=4}} ==See also== *{{portal-inline|Michigan Highways}} ==Notes== {{Reflist|group=lower-alpha}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== {{Attached KML|display=inline,title}} *[http://www.michiganhighways.org/listings/MichHwys250-696.html#I-375 I-375] at Michigan Highways *[http://www.michiganhighways.org/listings/MichHwysBus96-496.html#I-375BS BS I-375] at Michigan Highways *[http://www.kurumi.com/roads/3di/i375.html#375mi I-375 Michigan] at Kurumi *[http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-375_mi.html I-375 Michigan] at the Interstate Guide *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGZ_u7rOMng Michigan - Interstate 375 South - Full Length] at YouTube *{{cite news |first = Lewis (Bill) M. |last = Dickens |date = December 15, 2013 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21828064/removing_i375_an_urban_planning/ |title = Removing I-375 an Urban Planning Disaster Waiting to Happen |work = Detroit Free Press |page = 18A |issn = 1055-2758 |id = {{oclc|10345127| 137343179}} |access-date = July 13, 2018 |via = Newspapers.com }} {{3di|75}} {{Good article}} {{DEFAULTSORT:I375}} [[Category:Auxiliary Interstate Highways|75-3 Michigan]] [[Category:Interstate Highways in Michigan|75-3]] [[Category:Interstate 75|3 Michigan]] [[Category:Transportation in Detroit]]'