History
As shown on the state maps of the time, the I-675 freeway was under construction starting in 1969. The freeway was completed in 1971 and opened to traffic that year.
The original bridge across the Saginaw River for I-75/US 23 at Zilwaukee was built in 1960 as a bascule bridge to allow shipping traffic to use the river. Opening the drawbridge would back traffic up on I-75/US 10/US 23 for upwards of four hours on holiday weekends, and I-675 was designed to help relieve the congestion. Approved in 1974, construction on the replacement bridge started in October 1979; I-675 served as an additional bypass route for traffic along the construction zone. A major construction accident in August 1982 delayed completion of the new Zilwaukee Bridge; a bridge pier partially collapsed when contractors overloaded a section under construction. The affected 300-foot (91 m) deck segment tilted to rest three feet (0.91 m) higher on one end and five feet (1.5 m) lower on the other. The structure was originally supposed to cost $76.8 million with a 1983 completion date; in the end it cost $131.3 million when the southbound span finally opened on September 19, 1988.
Starting in May 2009 and ending in November 2011, sections of I-675 were closed from exit 2 easterly to begin renovations during the summer construction seasons. These projects included rehabilitation of the Henry Marsh Bridge, the reconstruction of overpasses, and a redesigned exit at Warren Avenue to ease access into downtown Saginaw.
Read more about this topic: Interstate 675 (Michigan)
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