You Should Really Avoid This Highway Under Construction In Lansing
I hate US 127 and 496 with a passion.
I cheerfully refer to this exchange as the "cement mixer of doom" because it is the perfect storm of bad drivers and (in my opinion) poor road planning.
If you throw a good dose of construction in there, this thing is a nightmare that has had northbound 127 traffic at a standstill every day during rush hour and even on the weekends for the past month or so.
We really are bad drivers.
Let's just suck it up Michiganders. We are terrible drivers. Sure the roads suck but we are terrible at navigating what MDOT has given us. And to be honest, they have given us some 💩 when it comes to road designs and fixing the "darn" roads.
I just ran into a guy who recently moved here from NEW YORK and HE COMPLAINED that we (as Michigan drivers) were overly aggressive, impatient, and all-around just bad.
I concur.
Let's toss that into the mix that is 127 and 496, and we amp up that situation exponentially.
We can barely handle 127 and 496 WITHOUT construction.
Northbound 127 past Trowbridge is where it all goes downhill. People forget that they have to get all the way LEFT to start heading west on 496.
You know how many people I have seen (normal cars and even semi-trucks) merge across three lanes of traffic because they didn't read the signs and conveniently forgot, "OH CRAP, I GOTTA GET OVER RIGHT NOW".
Currently (at THAT EXACT SPOT where people realize they gotta cross over three lanes of traffic) there is a sign telling you that the two lanes continuing north will now merge into one.
Oh no.
Then we go from this.
To this because now no one wants to let anyone over. Even though we all saw the signs warning us that construction and merging were coming.
Several pylons were injured during this portion of the program.
The folks heading west on 496 ARE THE LUCKY ONES because if you're still heading north on 127, there's THIS right before the Kalamazoo exit.
And trying to get off of the PREVIOUS 2 lane 127 (which is now a tight, shifting one lane) onto Kalamazoo is a sharp, insane right that veers off the highway onto the offramp right after the construction.
Heaven forbid if you're still heading north on 127 past the Kalamazoo exit and towards Michigan Avenue or worse yet, you're trying to get off on Lake Lansing Road.
Never have the words, seek alternate routes meant so much.
But wait, there's more.
Because there's always more construction. Especially on 496. You didn't think this would ever be over did you?
That construction is set to begin early next year on I-496 between Lansing Road and Grand River. MDOT is asking the City of Lansing for a noise ordinance waiver so crews can work between the hours of 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. as well as weekends and holidays. (WILX)
Stay far, far away from here. For a while.
See the Must-Drive Roads in Every State
UP NEXT: Your Own Personal Haunted Michigan Lighthouse Tour Roadtrip
The Most Annoying Roads to Drive On in Lansing and East Lansing
50 of Michigan's "Must-Drive" Roads