Eureka corridor begins redesign
Considered by many as an under-utilized freeway interchange in terms of retail offerings despite the presence of Southland Mall nearby, work began in earnest to clean up the lands near the interchange to encourage future development. The movement was led by the November 2014 closure of Gibraltar Trade Center after nearly 35 years of operation in the former Joshua Doore building.
Permits to demolish the former Ramada Inn east of I-75 were finally approved in mid-2015 after a renovation project was aborted some years before. “The Plaza” shopping center west of the freeway, in various stages of limbo for the nearly 15 years since Fandango Hall had shuttered, was finally given the wrecking ball. Its demolition, along with the subsequent razing of the Trade Center site, would allow for the eventual building of Downriver’s first Menard’s Home Improvement Store, with a Spring 2017 opening date.
Fixing the “damn bridge” stifling
Parts of Jefferson north of Coolidge in River Rouge were approaching literal ghost-town status as businesses along that stretch continued to bleed red ink and shutter, due to the lack of customers coming from the Delray area. This was due to the ancient drawbridge having broken down, blocking River Rouge from Southwest Detroit. A graphic design business, for instance, reported an 80% drop in year-to-year earnings. Various remaining shops still displayed orange signs on their storefronts proclaiming, “Fix The Damn Bridge.”
Parts of Jefferson north of Coolidge were approaching literal ghost-town status as businesses along that stretch continued to bleed red ink and shutter, due to the lack of customers coming from the Delray area. A graphic design business, for instance, reported an 80% drop in year-to-year earnings. Various remaining shops still displayed orange signs on their storefronts proclaiming, “Fix The Damn Bridge.”
By this time, Wayne County had set various dates for repair/reconstruction of the bridge which had been damaged by operator error, but no work was done. Combined with the multi-year closure of the Fort Street drawbridge near the Marathon refinery – where construction work was still being done – as well as the periodic closure of the Dix Highway bridge near the Rouge Factory complex, north and southbound traffic had little or no choice as to their routing. It would remain to be seen what effect the fresh news coverage would have toward correcting the problem. The Fort Street drawbridge would finally reopen to traffic in December 2015.
Trenton DTE plant faces phase-out
In September 2015, DTE Energy announced they were to close (via phase-out) 25 older power plants in Michigan by the year 2020 in response to President Barack Obama’s Clean Energy Plan, enacted the year before. In February 2016, it was confirmed that the Trenton Channel Power Plant was among those on the list facing either closure or time-consuming conversion to a natural gas fired plant.
Two of three major generating units at the Trenton facility would be deactivated as part of the change, which proponents said would aid in the reduction of carbon emissions by 50 to 60 percent. They also noted that, even if the plant were to convert to natural gas, it was nearing the end of its expected lifespan. Trenton government representatives, including City Administrator Jim Wagner, did not take kindly to the news, stating the power plant was Trenton’s largest taxpayer, whose closure could impact city budgets and operations by up to 25 percent. They cited an eventual need to give layoff notices to police, fire and sanitary personnel as well, in addition to the plant jobs that would be lost.
The neighboring Wyandotte Power Plant, also coal-driven, was not mentioned at the time as being a potential closure target, as it is municipally owned and operated, without ties to a major utility company. In June 2016, the news became official as the Trenton Channel Power Plant would be slated for closure between 2020 and 2023.
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