Berkley Drivers: Heed the Detour Signs or Pay the Fines

Construction at the 12 Mile Road and Coolidge Highway intersection in Berkley got under way Tuesday and drivers didn't seem to notice. But, they better pay attention starting Wednesday morning or risk being slapped with fines.

The biggest problem so far, officials said, is that motorists are ignoring the posted detours.

"We recognize the first couple of days will be a little bumpy," Director Derrick Schueller said. "There will be people who will not follow the detour until they get up on the intersection and see it themselves."

That could be costly beginning Wednesday morning when a 24-hour grace period will end and drivers will be ticketed for disobeying the signs and violating traffic rules related to the construction, Deputy Robert North warned.

All traffic fines in the construction zone will be doubled, he said.

Examples of violations for which drivers could be ticketed are driving on private property (such as through a business' parking lot) to avoid traffic control devices and disobeying a traffic signal, Administrator Tami Hudson said. The tickets for those offenses are $150 each.

"Be patient, follow the signs and take your time," North urged.

“The posted detours will be on the surrounding arterial roads, including Woodward, 11 Mile, Greenfield and 13 Mile,” Schueller said. These are the official routes as approved by the Road Commission for Oakland County and the Michigan Department of Transportation. “All through traffic should follow the posted detours while local traffic can utilize 12 Mile and Coolidge to access businesses and homes."

While traffic is likely to increase in the residential areas around the construction project, will on on-hand to patrol the site and make sure regulations are followed, Schueller said.

He said heavy equipment was scheduled to arrive at the construction site Tuesday night and the project, which is set to wrap up Aug. 6, would get started in earnest Wednesday.

The existing brick intersection will be replaced with 10-inch nonreinforced concrete. Construction will shut down the intersection, but all .

"The first couple of days we're going to go through those growing pains (of people disobeying the signs)," he said. "But then we'll be rocking and rolling."

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For more information on the construction, including the official timeline, project contacts and other details, read .