Parts of I-75 Will Remain Closed for Weeks After Massive Tanker Fire
It was an absolute disaster on I-75 earlier this week when a fuel tanker truck struck the center median and caught fire and exploded. This happened on the Big Beaver overpass and as you can imagine there is extensive damage to the entire highway and the median. It was such a mess that they had to shut down the northbound and southbound lanes. Well, it now looks like some of those lanes will be shut down for weeks to come.
There was obviously a lot of damage and the repairs won't happen overnight. There was significant damage to lanes in both directions as the heat burned the pavement. The burning of the pavement compromised the strength and stability of the highway. There was also damage to the median which will need to be repaired.
According to the Detroit Free Press, The right lanes on northbound and southbound I-75 are expected to open today (Wednesday). This will allow traffic to continue on I-75 while the center and left lanes are being rebuilt. Those repairs will probably be complete by roughly August 1st.
You can also expect some ramps in the area to remain closed for a while as well. This includes the ramps from 14 Mile and Rochester roads to northbound I-75, as well as the ramps from Crooks Road and Big Beaver Road to southbound I-75.
I'm so glad that I don't have to travel down that way anytime soon, I can only imagine the ugly backups that commuters will have to deal with.
The moment that the tanker hit the median and exploded was caught on camera and it's freaking crazy.