M-1 RAIL announces details of July 28th start of construction

DETROIT, MI (Tell Us Det) - Construction has started on a long-awaited commuter light rail project linking downtown Detroit to the city's New Center area. The plan has been the works for seven years.

At Woodward and Grand River, you can hear the sound of heavy concrete-cutting machinery, cranes and bulldozers as they work their way north of West Adams Monday morning.

Woodward Avenue from Adams Street south to Campus Martius will be closed for about 120 days for M-1 Rail work.

Crews are currently removing concrete, installing rail tracks, performing drainage work, and doing repaving and utility relocation. Work typically will be done between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Sidewalks will remain open for businesses along the route.

Roger Penske, M-1 RAIL Chairman of the Board, and Matt Cullen, M-1 RAIL President & CEO, were at the construction site Monday morning along with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan for a briefing on the first day of construction activities.

“The road to bring a modern streetcar line to Detroit began more than 7 years ago and today we’ve reached a major milestone,” said Penske. “The people who live and work in this city have tenacious spirits. It’s that passion and love for this place that gets projects like this moving. We are now on the path to revolutionize the way we move throughout the Woodward corridor and beyond,” he said.

“Today we start building the foundation for the future of transportation in Detroit and in our region,” said Cullen. He also spoke about strategies the M-1 RAIL team developed with its construction manager to minimize disruption to businesses, residents and visitors along the construction corridor.

Upon completion in late 2016, the M-1 RAIL Streetcar will travel north and south along Woodward Avenue for 3.3-miles between Larned Street and W. Grand Blvd. The streetcar will service 20 stations (16 curbside and 4 median running) at 12 locations.

The modern streetcar will serve Detroit’s largest job centers and most visited destinations including the city’s business, educational, medical, cultural and entertainment hubs. It will ignite new economic development and job creation and will provide a foundation for improved and expanded public transit throughout the region.

Projections indicate the streetcar will promote 10,000 new housing units and more than $3 billion in economic development along the M-1 RAIL route and neighboring side streets over the next decade.

The federal government has committed $25 million. Other funding comes from foundations and businesses.

“Since announcing our construction start date, we have held several meetings with stakeholders who live, work and visit Woodward Avenue to set expectations about construction activities,” said Paul Childs, Chief Operating Office, M-1 RAIL. “Our goal is to ensure construction activities are completed safely and expeditiously with as little disruption as possible to businesses, residents and visitors.”

M-1 RAIL construction activities beginning Monday, July 28 between Adams and Campus Martius include:

• Woodward Avenue will be closed starting 12:00 a.m. on Monday, July 28. The north and south closure will remain in effect for approximately 120 days.

• Construction work will generally occur between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday thru Friday.

• Construction in this area will include: concrete removal, drainage and track installation, repaving, and utility relocation.

• Sidewalks along the work zone will remain open.

M-1 RAIL representatives shared the anticipated construction timeline for the entire corridor through 2016. “Streetcar Construction Overview” documents have been developed for the Downtown, Midtown and North End/New Center Districts. Each construction overview includes a map, construction timeline and public transportation, parking, pedestrian and bicycle access information.

M-1 RAIL external relations team members will distribute “Streetcar Construction Overview” documents during regular project update meetings with business and the community stakeholders. The information is also available at www.M-1RAIL.com/Construction.

Other tools that will be used to share information about the construction schedule include an interactive construction map on the M-1 RAIL website and a weekly e-newsletter; both will be available the week of July 21.

To learn more about upcoming meetings and construction activities visit www.M-1RAIL.com and sign-up for the weekly e-newsletter, call 1-800-511-3931, “like” M-1 RAIL on Facebook or follow on Twitter. The M-1 RAIL Office located at 1426 Woodward Avenue in Detroit is also open Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The M-1 RAIL streetcar when complete in late 2016 will travel north and south on both sides of Woodward Avenue for 3.3-miles between Larned Street and W. Grand Blvd. The streetcar will service 20 stations (16 curbside and 4 median running) at 12 locations. The modern streetcar system will serve Detroit’s largest job centers and most visited destinations. It will ignite tremendous new economic development and job creation and will provide a foundation for improved and expanded public transit throughout the region. The project will also create construction and permanent jobs for Detroiters.

About M-1 RAIL
M-1 RAIL is the non-profit organization leading the design, construction, and future operation of a 3.3-mile (6.6 miles round-trip) modern streetcar along Woodward Avenue between Larned Street and West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan. An unprecedented public-private partnership and model for regional collaboration, the M-1 RAIL Streetcar project is the first major transit project led and funded by private businesses and philanthropic organizations, in partnership with local, state and federal governments. Visit www.M-1RAIL.com for more information.