Northville and Novi drivers who commute into Detroit on westbound I-96 face more than a week of lane closures and detours starting Friday, Sept. 25.

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is shutting down westbound I-96 express and local lanes in phases to demolish the Fullerton bridge and perform maintenance on the Hubbell bridge. The work zone sits between M-8/Davison and M-39/Southfield Freeway in Detroit.

The closures break into two phases.

Westbound I-96 express lanes close Friday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m. and reopen Saturday, Sept. 26, at 5 p.m. During that window, drivers can use the westbound local lanes as a detour. The westbound M-8/Davison ramp to the express lanes is also closed.

The longer disruption begins Saturday, Sept. 26, at 5 p.m., when westbound I-96 local lanes close from M-8/Davison to Greenfield. That closure runs through Sunday, Oct. 4, at 5 a.m. Drivers will use the express lanes as a detour during this phase.

Three ramps close during the local-lane phase: the westbound M-8/Davison to I-96 local ramp, the Schaefer/Grand River ramp to westbound I-96 local, and the Wyoming Avenue ramp to westbound I-96 local. Drivers who normally exit at those points will need to stay on the express lanes past their usual stop or leave the freeway early and use surface streets.

Both phases are weather-dependent, according to WWJ Newsradio.

Kassy Ray, a driver who spoke to WXYZ 7 News Detroit, said the closures compound problems already caused by other construction. "It's going to be extremely hard," Ray said. "It's already hard on the main streets because they close and like everything, we can't even get on the freeway."

MDOT closed eastbound I-96 local and express lanes between Southfield Freeway (M-39) and Schaefer Highway from Sept. 18 to Sept. 21 to remove the Fullerton Street overpass, according to the agency. Nathaniel Webster, another commuter interviewed by WXYZ, said that closure had already added 10 to 15 minutes to his daily drive.

The I-96 bridge work is separate from the $143 million I-96/M-14 interchange rebuild in Plymouth Township and Livonia, which runs from Newburgh Road to Sheldon Road. On Sept. 18, westbound I-96 traffic from Levan Road to I-275 was switched to rebuilt lanes as part of that project, according to MDOT, which MDOT expects to finish by the end of 2026.

Drivers can check MDOT's online construction tracker or follow the agency's Metro Detroit account on X for updates.