After enduring decades of inconvenient and often excessively long traffic delays, Woodhaven residents are seeing the commencement of a $65 million endeavor to remedy the notorious Allen Road Canadian National rail crossing. Groundbreaking on the massive infrastructure project began this week, with expectations to unravel the persistent snarl that has plagued local drivers and disrupted the flow of more than 30,000 vehicles daily.
For locals like Elaine Melnar, the project is a long-overdue relief. “It’s been a headache ever since I moved in '79,” Melnar told ClickOnDetroit. Allen Road, a critical artery for the community, has seen commercial and civilian traffic frequently interrupted by the rail crossing, with some delays lasting up to 45 minutes. The goal is clear: build an elevated track above the road, thereby separating the train from vehicular traffic.
Wayne County Department of Public Services Director Oladayo Akinyemi outlined the plans, detailing the complexity and the inconvenience that will inevitably shadow the construction phase. “We want people to be prepared to have some patience," he said in a Fox 2 Detroit interview. "This is a temporary problem for a long-time solution." Preliminary stages involve the relocation of crucial utility lines—including Verizon phone lines and, following that, gas mains. These are stepping stones towards the ultimate goal: elevating the railway.
Residents are being called upon to brace for the inevitable changes in their daily commutes. Expected to span roughly two years, the construction is touted to alleviate widespread frustration over the tracks, which have caused average daily delays of just over nine minutes, as reported by Audacy. While the preliminary work focuses on the less disruptive task of moving fiber-optic cables, Woodhaven locals are prepped for when a full closure of the crossing and major rerouting will occur—a scenario forecasted to be at least 12 to 18 months away, Akinyemi detailed.
The comprehensive Allen Road Grade Separation project ensures that, upon completion, the vehicular road will be dropped "a little bit" and the rail line will be raised "a little bit to be able to create that separation so the rail, the train, can do its thing, and vehicles can do their thing," described Akinyemi in a ClickOnDetroit statement. In addition to the rail bridge, a new pump station will be installed to mitigate flooding issues.
