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Funding issue leads to reversal of road diet plan by Eastpointe City Council

If city were to proceed with road diet, it would need to reject MDOT’s funding

EASTPOINTE, Mich. – Eastpointe City Council rescinded its plans for a road diet to reduce a stretch of 9 Mile Road from five lanes to three.

City council approved the road diet plan at a heated meeting in February but reversed that decision Tuesday (March 19) over a funding issue.

The decision came after the Michigan Department of Transportation informed the city it would not pay for the road diet.

“MDOT said due to the change in scope, which was changing the intent of the project, it’s no longer a reconstruction,” said Assistant City Manager Kim Homan.

If the city were to proceed with the road diet, it would need to reject MDOT’s funding.

“I can’t cast a vote to de-obligate the funds, I think that is too risky,” said Mayor Michael Klinefelt. “I think at the start of this, I tried to be clear with people that we wouldn’t push so hard for redesign that we’d end up losing money because I think that’s the worst thing we could do.”

In a 4-1 vote at Tuesday’s meeting, council voted to move forward with the five lane reconstruction project funded largely by MDOT.

Councilman Cardi DeMonaco voted against the measure, pleading with the city to work with MDOT to obtain the funding.

Despite the lost vote, DeMonaco hopes the road diet will still happen for Phase 3 of the project on 9 Mile Road between Tuscany Avenue and Kelly Road.

“There’s still phase three where we could still do a road diet on a portion of 9 Mile, just not the whole section we were talking about,” DeMonaco said.


About the Author
Jacqueline Francis headshot

Jacqueline Francis is an award-winning journalist who joined the WDIV team in September 2022. Prior to Local 4, she reported for the NBC affiliate in West Michigan. When she’s not on the job, Jacqueline enjoys taking advantage of all the wonders Michigan has to offer, from ski trips up north to beach days with her dog, Ace.

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