I-96 local lanes reopened after storm-caused mudslide at Schaefer
Construction area mudslide closes I-96 at Schaefer
Heavy rains caused a closure of westbound I-96's local lanes as mud from a nearby construction site slid onto the freeway.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - The I-96 westbound local lanes were reopened Thursday morning after a closure to clear a reported mudslide at Schaefer.
The backstory:
Wednesday night's heavy storms that hit Metro Detroit left plenty of impacted areas including a worksite at Fullerton near I-96.
The periods of downpours caused mud and dirt to slide down the embankment and onto the freeway, blocking local lanes on the westbound side.
Timeline:
All local lanes were closed at 1 a.m. which lasted about six hours before reopening at 7 a.m.
Efforts were underway to clear the mud from the freeway when SkyFOX flew overhead at 6:30 a.m. – see in the overhead video.
Dig deeper:
Storm damage across SE Michigan includes about 80,000 DTE Energy customers out of power Thursday morning.
The east side, including Warren and Madison Heights were among the hardest hit areas.
Storm damage from Wednesday night leave trees down, power out
Two rounds of storms late Wednesday night has left many in the dark with trees down and flooding in some areas.
More storms expected
What's next:
An isolated storm is possible through midday, though the best bet once again is late afternoon and evening.
Scattered, potentially widespread storms develop, and the severe threat will be alive and well too.
Pockets of damaging winds are the greatest threat, while downpours keep localized flooding a possibility.
A slight risk (2 out of 5) remains in place through tonight.
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