Birmingham and Bloomfield-area commuters regained a key highway connection Monday, Aug. 31, as MDOT reopened the westbound I-696 ramps to northbound and southbound I-75, and commuters were already using the ramps by evening, WXYZ reported.

The ramps had been closed since Feb. 28 as part of the Restore the Reuther project, which is rebuilding a 10-mile stretch of I-696 in Oakland County and involves up to 60 bridges. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) listed the ramps as open in its Monday morning traffic update, FOX 2 Detroit reported.

MDOT spokesperson Diane Cross said crews needed most of the day to move barrier walls, uncover signs and lay down new pavement markings before drivers could use the ramps.

"By your afternoon drive on Monday, you should have those ramps open," Cross said.

While crews worked on the ramps, three westbound I-696 lanes between Dequindre Road and John R Road were closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with one lane kept open. The Dequindre Road ramp to westbound I-696 was also closed during that window.

For six months, drivers heading south or north on I-75 from westbound I-696 had no direct route. Detours pushed traffic off at Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak or farther west to M-10, Lahser Road and Telegraph Road. Access to Woodward Avenue from westbound I-696 was restored before the Aug. 31 ramp reopening, according to FOX 2.

The ramp reopening is one milestone in a larger timeline. MDOT project manager Brian Travis told WXYZ on Tuesday, Aug. 25, that paving was about 90 percent complete. Westbound traffic, running in the eastbound lanes as of late August, is expected to shift back to its original side around early October.

"Come around early October, we hope to put the westbound traffic back on that westbound pavement," Travis said in the Aug. 25 interview.

All eastbound and westbound I-696 lanes and ramps are expected to reopen by the end of 2026, according to MDOT. But the work is not done. More construction is planned on I-696 between I-75 and Dequindre Road in 2027, with drivers facing two lanes in each direction from about mid-April through fall of that year.