Metro Detroit traffic thread (Warren, Sterling Heights: home, employment, live)

[usernameunavailable]

Just curious, but what is the traffic situation like around Detroit?

If somebody would not mind doing doing something like the link below, that would be greatly appreciated.

Obviously for Detroit though

Philly Area Rush Hour Traffic Guide

[Retroit]

Google "traffic detroit".

[skatingrocker17]

During my weekday morning commute: Traffic is almost ALWAYS backed on I-275 North from Ford Road to the I-96 East exit. Also, the ramp from I-275 North / I-96 West to I-696 East is almost always backed up as well.

During my afternoon commute: Traffic usually backed up or very slow on I-696 West onto the M-5 / I-275 South ramp.

[belleislerunner]

I drive from my home in Detroit to my job in Southfield and don't hit the brakes once either way (i.e. reverse commute).

One of the small keys to success in life/happiness is choosing your housing location in a reverse commute pattern from work, and as close as possible.

[MS313]

I-94 headed towards downtown in the morning and away in the evening.
I-75 kind of the same as I-94 but not as bad... I-75 gets very backed up in parts of Oakland County as well
696 is bad and gets very backed up in various stretches of the freeway
275 gets very backed up between 696 and I-96
Southfield freeway gets pretty bad
I-96 gets pretty backed up in the northwest suburbs from about Novi to Brighton
Can't really speak on Washtenaw Co (Ann Arbor/ Ypsi area)

Southfield freeway, 696, 275, and I-75 traffic can get heavy even outside of rush hour. St. Clair county even though it's considered Metro Detroit, it's mostly rural. I can't imagine having too much issues way up there.

[MItoINtoOH]

Go to maps.google.com
Click the dropdown menu within the search bar found in the upper left hand corner
Select "Traffic" and a new menu bar will appear in the bottom center of the screen
Change "live traffic" to "typical traffic"
Select whatever day of the week and time of day you will be traveling
Voila!

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by MS313

Can't really speak on Washtenaw Co (Ann Arbor/ Ypsi area)

Freeways around there move pretty well... until there's an accident. Then it's pretty much a parking lot in any direction and it seems like a takes a while for traffic to clear out even after the accident is cleared.

All the freeways in Washtenaw are two lanes for the most part. I-94 narrows to 2 lanes at US -23 and M-14 on the north side of Ann Arbor seems like it was built like scribble with crayon. On top of that, the US-23/M-14 interchange has some horrible traffic weaving and semis and cars basically have to fight for the exits. It's really amazing more accidents haven't occurred there. They really should rebuild it so that through traffic doesn't have to merge together.

[DTWflyer]

Traffic in Metro Detroit is pretty straightforward:

General:

Morning commutes get slow and congested from typical bedroom communities headed inbound to all of the major employment centers in the region. Accidents and poor weather (e.g., heavy rain, snow, ice, fog) can cause gridlock and commute times to double or triple.

Evening commutes get slow and congested from major employment centers headed toward bedroom communities. Accidents and poor weather (e.g., heavy rain, snow, ice, fog) can cause gridlock and commute times to double or triple.

Major employment centers include:
Downtown Detroit
Southfield
Dearborn
Troy
Auburn Hills
Warren & Sterling Heights (industrial corridor between Mound & Van Dyke)
Ann Arbor
I-275 corridor (between Novi and Plymouth)

Rush Hour Times:
Rush hour in Metro Detroit tends to be start and end earlier than other cities, primarily driven by the mindset and schedules of the automotive industry and other related businesses, which also translates to other industries.

Morning rush hour is generally starts around 6:30am and winds down around 9-9:30am. Peak tends be from about 7:30-8:30am.

Afternoon rush hour tends to start around 3:30pm and winds down pretty dramatically after about 6:30pm. Peak tends to be between 4:30-6pm. Evening rush hour tends to be more congested than mornings. On Fridays rush hour seems to start at about 2pm. Traffic during the summer months is noticeably lighter. Summer Fridays, traffic can be extremely light and almost more weekend-like.