Carpool lanes for busy stretch of I-75 in Oakland County move one step closer to reality
LANSING — Motorists traveling with at least one passenger could soon be able to avoid congestion on a busy stretch of I-75 in Oakland County after legislation to allow specially designated carpool lanes was approved Tuesday by a Senate committee.
Newly constructed northbound and southbound lanes for "high occupancy vehicles," commonly known as carpool lanes, are already built between 12 Mile Road and South Boulevard as part of a major reconstruction of I-75. The Michigan Department of Transportation, which announced its plans in March, is just waiting for House Bills 4352 and 4353 to become law so they can start restricting use of the new lanes to drivers carrying at least one passenger, buses, motorcycles, and emergency vehicles, according to legislative testimony.
The new lanes would be restricted to high-occupancy vehicles between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. and between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, according to a Senate Fiscal Agency bill analysis. Anybody can use the lanes at non-peak times, and MDOT has also added extra parking near the freeway to encourage carpooling.
On Tuesday, the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee advanced the bills to the full Senate, in 10-1 votes, with no debate, with only Sen. Jon Bumstead, R-North Muskegon, voting no. The same bills passed the state House in June by 56-52 votes that were mostly along party lines.
Carpool lanes have been around for more than 40 years and are available across thousands of miles in at least 20 states, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
In Michigan, they have been studied since 1999, but are mostly new, MDOT officials told the committee Sept. 12. One was created temporarily along Michigan Avenue in Detroit about 10 years ago, during another I-75 construction project, the committee was told.
Though the immediate plans are for I-75, the legislation also could be used to support a bus lane along Division Street in Grand Rapids or special lanes for automated vehicles or bicycles, the committee was told.
Sen. Joseph Bellino, R-Monroe, expressed concerns at the Sept. 12 meeting that lanes could be set aside exclusively for electric vehicles, which he said he would oppose.
Colin Forbes, deputy MDOT engineer for the Metro region, said there are no plans for such exclusivity, but EVs could certainly use the lanes, provided the driver was carrying at least one passenger.
Unauthorized use of the designated lanes, which will be the innermost lanes on the freeway, during specified hours would be a civil violation and result in a fine.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @paulegan4.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Carpool lanes for busy I-75 in Oakland County move closer to reality
