First phase of M1 light rail construction began yesterday

I concluded Red Wings to join Tigers and Lions in Detroit's Foxtown plus M1 update with commentary on a month-old story.

MLive reported last month Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit to close as construction of M1 Rail begins.

DETROIT, MI – Construction of the M1 Rail streetcar line officially begins Monday, July 28, and traffic in the lower Woodward Avenue area should get pretty hairy.

M1 Rail representatives said in an email Friday that work on the 3.3-mile lightrail line will close Woodward from Adams to Campus Martius Park for about 120 days.

As I was driving along Woodward downtown, I noticed how narrow the street was and wondered how the light rail line would be installed while keeping the street open.  The answer is that the street will be closed.  I'm glad I've been warned.

Work began as scheduled yesterday, as WXYZ reports in M-1 RAIL construction begins.


That was a useful video to watch, if only for the year when the previous light rail system was removed.  I'm also heartened by all the optimistic projections of economic development downtown.  It may not help as much as Penske and Duggan say, but overall the effects will be positive.