WOODHAVEN, Mich. – For decades, the Allen Road Canadian National rail crossing in Woodhaven has been a nightmare for drivers.
“One day I got caught three times by the train, just going in and out,” said Elaine Melnar, who has lived in Woodhaven for decades. “It’s been a headache ever since I moved in ’79.”
More than 30,000 vehicles, including 2,100 commercial trucks, traverse the crossing daily. Train passages cause average delays of nine minutes, accumulating to roughly an hour of total stoppage time each day, according to Wayne County.
“You can run up to the store, you can get stopped on the way there and start back (and get stopped). You got about a half hour each way sometimes,” Woodhaven resident Steve Mosley said.
A $65 million infrastructure project began this week to eliminate this traffic headache.
Scheduled for completion in November 2027, the project aims to separate vehicle and train traffic at the rail crossing.
“We’re going to drop the vehicular road down a little bit. We’re going to raise the rail line up a little bit to be able to create that separation so the rail, the train, can do its thing, and vehicles can do their thing,” Wayne County Department of Public Services Director Dayo Akinyemi said.
The current phase focuses on relocating utility lines to prepare for the rail bridge construction. While this preliminary work won’t significantly impact traffic, the project’s main phase will require a complete closure of the crossing.
“We’re going to have a complete closure and detour, but that is at least a good 12 to 18 months from now,” Akinyemi said. “We’re going to make a different level of outreach to the community and educate them.”
As part of this project, there will be a pump station installed to prevent flooding on Allen Road under the rail bridge.
For more information on the project, click here.
