Troy announced closures of three neighborhood streets at Rochester Road beginning Monday, Oct. 12, to stop drivers from cutting through residential areas.
Sylvanwood, Trinway and Creston roads were scheduled to close at Rochester Road for approximately three weeks, according to the city's construction update page. The closures will let the contractor finish mainline paving before the end of the construction season.
Residents on those streets can still get in and out through other neighborhood roads. Only the Rochester Road connections are blocked.
The action came after neighbors said drivers had been flooding residential streets to dodge the larger Rochester Road closure. The west side of Long Lake Road at Rochester Road closed the week of Oct. 5 for about three weeks as part of the multiyear project to widen Rochester Road from Barclay to Trinway. The east side of that same intersection closed in June.
Rex Brown, a neighbor, told ClickOnDetroit that the congestion had been overwhelming. "What a mess the last couple of days," Brown said. "Yesterday, we had almost a quarter mile back up on this street of cars at rush hour."
The city has posted two official detour routes: north to Square Lake Road or south to Wattles Road. Signs near parking lots warn that cut-throughs are prohibited, and the city said traffic enforcement in the area has increased.
Some commuters face a three-mile detour for a previously one-mile trip because of the Long Lake Road closure, ClickOnDetroit reported Oct. 6.
Nearby businesses are feeling it too. James Pitchford, executive chef at Pudge's Place, told the station he has to drive all the way around just to get to work.
The Rochester Road project is funded by a $22 million federal and Michigan Department of Transportation grant plus approximately $5.6 million from the city, according to Troy's project page. New lanes along Rochester Road are expected to open by the end of 2026, with final cleanup and restoration set for summer 2027.
Residents can sign up for project updates on the city's Rochester Road construction page.
