One of metro Detroit’s busiest freeway segments is about to close for eastbound drivers and stay closed until — don’t hold your breath — late 2027.

It’s part of a mammoth multi-year project called “Restore the Reuther.” The eastbound lanes of Interstate 696, also called the Walter P. Reuther Freeway, are scheduled to close in Oakland County on March 1 between Lahser Road in Southfield and I-75 in Royal Oak.