Woodhaven drivers are in for a long detour. Construction on the long-planned Allen Road grade separation kicks off Monday, shutting down Allen Road between Van Horn Road and West Road and sending local traffic onto side streets for months. Crews will eventually lower the roadway and raise the Canadian National rail line to create an uninterrupted crossing that officials say should finally end the habitual, sometimes hourlong train blockages that have choked traffic for years. County engineers concede the initial utility and prep work will be a headache, but they stress the goal is to restore dependable access across the corridor when it is all over.
Road closure, timeline and phases
According to the project page from Wayne County, closures start March 23 as the project moves out of the multi-year utility relocation phase and toward bridge construction scheduled for 2026 through 2028. The county’s timeline shows planning and early roadway work stretching back to 2009, with private-utility relocations still listed as “in progress” ahead of the main bridge build.
Detours and what drivers will face
Fox 2 Detroit reports the closure will run from just north of Van Horn to just south of West Road as crews launch the grade-separation work. The detour plan, as outlined by the Detroit Free Press, sends northbound traffic off Allen Road at Van Horn, then along Ford Lane and West Road before reconnecting with Allen, with southbound drivers routed in reverse. Motorists are being warned to brace for heavier congestion on those streets; WXYZ notes that more than 30,000 vehicles use the corridor each day, including roughly 2,140 commercial trucks.
Why county officials say it matters
Local reporting has documented how trains entering the Canadian National Flat Rock Yard can trigger lengthy, unpredictable stoppages at the Allen Road crossing, sometimes lasting 45 minutes or more, with one 2014 backup stretching past six hours. “The time has come to relieve this problem in a permanent way,” Wayne County Public Services Director Oladayo Akinyemi said in an interview, according to WWJ Newsradio. The outlet also reported that the county expects the work to take roughly two years, with costs estimated at $65 million.
Costs, timelines and lingering questions
Price tags and schedules for the project do not all line up. WXYZ has described a roughly $39 million plan that could take as long as three years to complete, while other coverage and project summaries have cited figures closer to $65 million. County officials say the work will be funded through a mix of federal, state and local sources, and that board approvals, contractor bidding and additional coordination are still built into the overall timeline.
How to stay updated
Wayne County is posting detour maps, construction updates and meeting materials on its project site and is offering email alerts along with a project hotline for questions. Residents can sign up for updates or check the latest schedule on the county’s project page or call 1-888-ROAD-CREW. For a deeper dive into how the plan reached this point, readers can look back at earlier coverage, including Hoodline’s reporting on the 2025 groundbreaking.
