Flying out of Detroit? Here’s why you will need to pack your patience

Detroit Metro Airport. (Courtesy DTW / Facebook)

If you’re planning on flying out of Detroit, you will need to give yourself more travel time as a multi-year construction project on the airport’s roadway tunnels is slated to get underway next week.

According to a news release, customers heading to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) will need to allow extra drive time due to upcoming construction.

Later this month, the Wayne County Airport Authority (WCAA) will begin the first of a multi-project construction program in order to rehabilitate roadway tunnels on Dingell Drive.

The projects will therefore impact the flow of traffic on Dingell Drive from approximately the Evans Terminal to the Eureka Road exit and entrance ramps near the McNamara Terminal.

Commencing on Jan. 8, northbound and southbound traffic on Dingell Drive will be reduced to two lanes in each direction through Feb. 29, 2024, weather permitting. Afterwards, from March 2024 to mid-2025 northbound traffic on Dingell Drive will be reduced to one lane, with all traffic being shifted to the southbound side of the roadway and tunnels.

Construction will continue year-round and is expected to conclude in 2027.

As construction gets underway, the airport cautions that customers may experience delays while driving on the DTW campus. As a result, departing travelers are encouraged to plan ahead and give themselves extra time to reach their gate.

Access to parking decks, lots and the Westin hotel will not be impacted during construction.

“We appreciate our customers’ patience as we work to improve the safety of our infrastructure critical to operations at DTW,” said Wayne County Airport Authority CEO Chad Newton. “We are committed to limiting the impact on our customers by working year-round to complete construction as quickly as possible.”

According to the release, the first phase of the construction project includes various improvements to the roadway surface, lighting, ventilation, fire protection, communications and monitoring systems, electrical systems and overhead signage, including structural repairs and stormwater collection improvements in the tunnels, in addition to other airport infrastructure.

The second phase is in the planning stages and will address the rehabilitation of exterior drainage and waterproofing systems of the south and north tunnel. Construction for the second project is expected to begin in 2025.

Most of the project will be funded by the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was passed by Congress in 2021. Toebe Construction was awarded the $85.5 million contract for the first project back in September 2023.

Originally constructed in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the three tunnels support the airfield runway and aboveground taxiway pavement, and allow access to McNamara Terminal.