'The new beams are now being installed and then a new deck will be poured. We should have the Warren Bridge back open to traffic by Christmas.' Southfield resident Jim Whiteford wasn't happy about the gantlet of projects on I-75, but he didn't let them keep him from traveling up north to camp. 'I certainly did run into a number of projects, but the answer is to either take a detour or leave earlier to make up for time lost in backups,' Whiteford said. 'It's just like when MDOT hit us with the reconstruction of the Lodge and with the 'Mixing Bowl' (last year). If you know about a project ahead of time, you can deal with it.' Rob Morosi, Michigan Department of Transportation spokesman, called MDOT's year 'ambitious.' MDOT spent about $280 million on the I-75 corridor, which included the Gateway Project. The department also had repairs on two dozen bridges in Detroit, Highland Park and Hamtramck, and another 50 bridges in Oakland County between Eight Mile and M-15, Morosi said. 'For a long time the public has asked why we don't just select one corridor to hit hard in a given year,' he said. 'We're still evaluating how effective it was. In terms of spending, this year is comparable to past years in the amount of money we spent on roads and bridges in the Metro area.' The absolute 8,000-pound gorilla of all the projects -- the $170 million Ambassador Bridge Gateway Project that shut down stretches of I-75 and I-96 near Mexicantown -- isn't slated to wrap up until December 2009. That project includes the realignment of both freeways plus the construction of new entrance and exit ramps to the Ambassador Bridge. Still, it wasn't always the big projects that made for headaches. Smaller ones -- handled by counties and cities -- closed roads and made travel difficult. On Friday, the manager at Huntington Cleaners, near 11 Mile and Coolidge in Huntington Woods, was pleased that her customers can park closer to the business again. The one-mile stretch of 11 Mile near the cleaner has been closed for most of the year. 'We are overjoyed that 11 Mile is slowly reopening today,' said Melissa Alliet, service manager for Huntington Cleaners. 'They started the project in March, and since then we've had nothing but issues, and they've all been construction related. We've heard complaints from almost all of our customers; we've kept most of our customers, but our business has still been down.' In an effort to combat the construction, the dry cleaner offered discounts and free delivery. 'It was a hassle for employees to get here, so I know it had to be difficult for our customers,' Alliet said. Commuting You can reach Tom Greenwood at (313) 222-2023 or tgreenwooddteom.