Finally, the Caniff repaving is complete and open for traffic

The last segment of Caniff has been repaved, and is now open for traffic. Caniff has been completely reconstructed and repaved from the I-75 service drive to Buffalo, thanks to a federal and state grant.

By Charles Sercombe
Time to celebrate, and if you have wheels whether it’s a car, bike or scooter test out the newest portion of Caniff.
That’s because it’s now smooth driving all the way through town on Caniff – one of the city’s main roads.
And you can once again enjoy that new road fragrance while you can – as well as a newly-cleaned street (which, in this town, lasts about 15 minutes).
The last segment of the years-long Caniff repaving is complete, and the street then fully open for traffic.
The last leg of the repaving and infrastructure replacement of Caniff was between Gallagher to Conant, and was scheduled to be completed this week, after allowing the freshly poured concrete to cure for the past couple of weeks.
In all, Caniff has now had its water and sewer lines (which run underneath the street) replaced from the I-75 service drive to Buffalo, and then the street repaved with concrete, to the tune of about $6 million for the entire stretch.
The project was funded through a federal and state grant, and it was started a few years ago beginning with the first of three sections, from I-75 to Jos. Campau.
This last stretch of work on Caniff began back in April, and finished — as estimated — this month.
Sidewalks were also replaced during this process.
Department of Public Works Director John DeAngelis said there are still “little pieces here and there” to finish up, but the important thing is that it’s open to traffic and pedestrians.
It is not known when Caniff was last repaved. What is known is that the street had long been plagued by potholes and numerous buried water line repairs that required sections of the street to be repeatedly torn up, and later repaved – which often resulted in bumpy surfaces.
During the reconstruction, a number of businesses suffered a drop-off in customers because of the street closures.
In other updates, the sewer line replacement under Jos. Campau, south of Holbrook, has closed off that street for the past couple of months, but the south lane should soon be open for traffic, said DeAngelis.
That work is expected to be fully completed in the next several weeks.
Hamtramck has not seen major street and infrastructure repairs on this scale until the past several years, when federal and state grants for this project were funneled into the city.
Posted July 18, 2025