![]() In Moses’s spirit, perhaps construction could be assigned to the titanic “jungle road builder” General Motors proposed at its 1964 “Futurama,” atomic powered and capable of laying a mile of expressway an hour. To imagine driving the inner belt today requires the vision of Robert Moses, the autocratic road-builder whose highways still hold New York in their grip. losing its parkway as it crosses Plymouth Rd., shedding lanes as it passes Nixon, and disappearing completely at Tuebingen Pkwy.Ī ring with gaps is no ring at all. speeding southward, only to stop short at Scio Church, confronted by a guardrail and a two-headed arrow commanding all traffic to turn Huron Pkwy. Though large segments were built, it’s defined today by absences–gaps that have endured so long they seem almost like someone intended them: those strange exits on M-14 broad Maple Rd. This plan was for an “inner belt” of high-volume surface streets that would wrap around three sides of the city within the “outer belt” of freeways. Well, there was an idea, and much of this Medusa-like snarl of exits and entrances was intended to be only temporary, until the plan could be completed. They are confusing at best and often quite dangerous. meets M-14? I’m talking about the Barton Dr., Whitmore Lake Rd., and North Main St. We can't even view them all," she said.What’s the deal with the highway interchanges where North Main St. "We have 207 cameras in southeast Michigan. The cameras can't zoom in on license plates and can't see how many occupants are in a car, she said. "It helps minimize the drive time."īut motorists need not fear Big Brother is watching their every move, Gill said. "They can tell them which entrance ramp they can get on," she said. They allow dispatchers to give rescuers accurate information about where accidents are. Sarah Gill, assistant operations delivery engineer at the Michigan Intelligent Transportation Systems Center, which monitors the cameras in Detroit, said they can be turned in virtually any direction and can zoom to a mile and a half away. The cameras can assist police and emergency crews in mounting a fast response to crashes. The federal government is picking up the $3.2 million cost for the project, Arend said. Those signs will specify travel times to I-275 and M-52 and I-96. MDOT plans to place travel time signs on eastbound I-94 near Zeeb Road, specifying travel time to downtown Detroit, and on southbound US-23 north of Geddes Road and northbound US-23 north of Geddes Road. “For example, the one on westbound I-96 (in Livingston County) we put that board before M-59 so they can divert.” MDOT plans to place the message boards in strategic locations to warn motorists of crashes or construction congestion ahead so they can choose an alternate route. A testing period will follow the installation, and MDOT expects the system to go live in fall 2012, Arend said. Workers already have begun installing the system at several of the intersections. The cameras will be located at major intersections, including I-94 and US-23, I-94 and State Street, I-94 and Ann Arbor-Saline Road and US-23 and M-14. Washtenaw County will get 11 video cameras, 8 message boards, 3 travel time signs and 13 travel detectors or devices that help determine traffic flow. It should go live later this year, Arend said. MDOT has also installed the cameras in several locations in Livingston County and is testing that system now. The system is similar to one already in use on freeways in the Detroit area. "Generally, these are not recording," she said. The cameras will not be used for tracking motorists’ speed to issue tickets or for law enforcement purposes in general, she said, unless there’s some extenuating circumstance. “They can go to those cameras and see how traffic is flowing,” Arend said. The public will be able to view video from cameras on MDOT's website, /drive. The Michigan Department of Transportation is installing the cameras, as well as message boards, to help motorists avoid congested areas and improve travel efficiency, MDOT spokeswoman Kari Arend said. Starting sometime next year, drivers on Ann Arbor-area freeways will be on camera as they travel about. An image captured from a camera at I-94 and I-275.
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