The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has opened the state's first High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane on a 5.25-mile stretch of Michigan Avenue from Wyoming Avenue to the Detroit Central Business District. The HOV lane is providing downriver commuters with a transit alternative for reaching downtown during Gateway Project construction. The HOV lane accommodates buses, commuter vans and carpool vehicles with two or more occupants.
This historic partnership between the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transit (SMART) enables them to jointly operate the Gateway Express, a new bus service for commuters traveling from the downriver area to Detroit 's Central Business District. The new route extends 19.25 miles from the Gibraltar Trade Center to Larned and St. Antoine streets in downtown Detroit .
Special accommodations: Buses are wheelchair-accessible
BACKGROUND: Major construction on MDOT's Ambassador Bridge Gateway Project is ALREADY underway. A section of the I-75 Fisher  freeway from Rosa Parks Boulevard to Clark Street , is NOW CLOSED, through December 2009. To help commuters avoid the construction, DDOT and SMART will jointly operate the Gateway Express. This express bus service will pick up passengers at three SMART Park & Ride lots in the downriver area and travel along the new HOV lane for a fast, stress-free commute into Detroit 's Central Business District. Other commuters traveling by van or car pool may also use the new HOV lane.
CHECK BACK FOR ANY UPDATES ON THE CONDITION and status of the freeway lane closure. And listen
to my TRAFFIC UPDATES--- Weekdays --- beginning at 4:15 p.m.
ANOTHER HUGE and LONG TERM CONSTRUCTION PROJECT !!! read on:
I-75 (CHRYSLER) IN BOTH DIRECTIONS BETWEEN I-375 AND I-94 ROAD CONSTRUCTION
ALREADY UNDERWAY --- TRAVEL IS REDUCED TO TWO LANES FOR THE FIRST
PHASE OF AN OVERPASS REHAB PROJECT THROUGH JUNE 20 . LODGE AND I-96 (JEFFRIES)
ARE POSSIBLE ALTERNATES. (PHASE 2 BETWEEN I-94 AND THE DAVISON WILL RUN FROM
(JULY 7) THRU MID-NOV)
Posted by George Moore 7:45 pm January 10, 2008
updated at 5:15 pm January 11, 2008
updated at 8:52 pm January 24, 2008
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Early July BLOG NOTES:
I have just been so BUSY with so many things, that I have not had the opportunity to update my blog. So, forgive me, and here is what I have been able to muster.
CITY COUNCIL SHENANIGANS:
Well, I’LL BE!! Looks like we got another controversy involving an arm of the Detroit city government. Some members of the city governing panel known as the Detroit City Council, have been accused of …..GASP!*…wrongdoing? Allegedly taking kickback? And....what IS it with these Chiefs of Staff?? Why are these people, appointed by the people that WE elect, having so much difficulty being honest, law abiding citizens. The mayor’s Chief of Staff getting into trouble, having to resign. Now, the City Council President’s C-o-S getting caught on FEDERAL surveillance tape supposedly taking money from a city sludge cleanup client. I don’t know what is going to come of this, but is sure does not reflect well for a city TRYING to clean-up its overall image.
COBO CENTER DEALEO:
Now, the mayor has come up with a plan to AT LEAST make a little more s p a c e at C-O, B-O. This comes after SUZUKI says they aren’t being given enough room to put up their display at the 2009 North American International Auto Show, so they aint going to be there. That’s TWO automakers to drop out in the past year (PORSCHE was the other). So maybe that is enough to make SOMEBODY want to do SOMETHING!!?? Mayor Kilpatrick has come up with a BAND-AID plan to add another 70 thousand square feet, that will supposedly be extracted from the decrepit, broken down Cobo Arena space.
 It’s only a stop-gap measure, and one supposedly that will lead to the bigger expansion they need to keep the NAIAS from packing and moving, probably to Chicago ( see one of my PREVIOUS blogs). WHY!? WHY!? WHY? Do our city leaders procrastinate so badly, and WHY do they spend more time getting involved in antagonistic - verbal jousts with the suburbs, rather than getting things done?? We have some brilliant people in our city and county government. But it seems like they spend so much time posturing and fighting amongst themselves, or trying to stay a STEP ahead of the law, that they cannot get the work done that WE elected them for. It is very FRUSTRATING. This could be an even GREATER city if they would just stick to DOING THEIR JOBS!!?? I STILL think they won’t get anything done with COBO until the NAIAS moving vans are headed towards the city limits, with “Chicago or BUST” posted on the back of the vans. I don’t like being so skeptical, but this is what we’ve historically been shown.
CITY STREETS AND ROADS:
Bad, BAD, BADD(er) shape with moon-sized craters, potholes, CHUCKHOLES, SINKHOLES, Holes just for the hell of it! Or so it seems.
 >>> That picture kind of illustrates just how BAD it is on a stretch of ROSA PARKS Boulevard, between McNichols and Puritan. It is ABSOLUTELY so bad, SO BADLY DAMAGED With not POTHOLES, NOT CHUCKHOLES, but C R A T E R S. It is nearly UN-DRIVABLE!! . I have sent emails to the city, with no response, and NOTHING DONE. AT LEAST they could fill-up the bigger holes with that road spackle they use, because no one who lives around there expects the city to ……(GASP!) REPAVE!!??
SMOOTHJAZZ FEST ‘08
Man! Was that a LOT of fun! We hope that YOU enjoyed it as much as WE did! We had that rough (weather) START on Friday (opening night), but after THAT? Magnifico! Saturday, the 14th, was a special day. The weather was PERFECTO! The artists, musicians were just SUPERB! bordering on mind-blowing! From open to close. And what can we say about the headliner, KENNY G?? He is quite the entertainer, musician, show man, you NAME IT Kenny G. is it. Sunday, with Jimmy Sommers, Take-6, Mindi Abair, the Ohio Players, was FANTASTIC! What a way to celebrate the 10th Anniversary! We also hoped you enjoyed the Behind-the-Scenes looks, with the artist interviews, the blogs. You can still view what went on at our website: smoothjazzdetroit.com
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