City of Detroit enters Phase 3 of road closures ahead of 2024 NFL Draft

(CBS DETROIT) - The City of Detroit is just 10 days away from hosting the 2024 NFL Draft, prompting additional road closures.

Puzzouli works in downtown Detroit and commutes from Windsor. Despite his frustration with navigating additional road closures, he says he's looking forward to the draft.

"I was rather frustrated, to be honest, just because of all the road closures, I had to go around and do a kind of loop de loop," Rob Puzzouli said.

"Oh, I'm definitely excited about the draft. I think it's great for Detroit; I think it's awesome."

Even those who aren't behind the wheel are starting to notice a difference when making their way downtown.

"I just come down here to walk in the morning," Kimberly Fisher-Alexander said. "I know all the backstreets, but there are some streets [that] are closed that I didn't expect."

Phase 3 of NFL Draft-related road closures started Monday, April 15 at midnight, impacting the southbound Lodge exit to Jefferson Avenue downtown, but, for now, drivers can still use exit 1A, which takes you to West Jefferson, or exit 1B, which takes you to Larned. 

The closure that will likely impact the most people is westbound Jefferson Avenue from Beaubien Street to Washington Boulevard; eastbound Jefferson Avenue from Washington Boulevard to Randolph; Bates Street from Jefferson Avenue to Atwater Street; and then Atwater Street from Civic Center Drive to Bates Street. Southbound Brush Street between Larned Street and Jefferson Avenue is closed as well. 

If you want to avoid dealing with the road closure conundrum entirely, you might want to consider the advice of someone who works downtown.

"Walk," Youssef Slim said. "I would say, if you can get your car to park it somewhere walk around and get to know Detroit."

The city is also issuing a warning about parking. Wherever there are road closures, there are also parking restrictions. Detroit's Municipal Parking Department and Department of Public Works encourage motorists to pay close attention to any and all parking restriction signs along our city streets. 

The Park Detroit app only notes which zone you are in and therefore may still appear to allow you to park in any given location, despite the restrictions in place. Cars improperly parked will be towed at the owners' expense.