City of Detroit, MI
04/16/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/16/2024 11:00
Detroit’s new Gateway sign now lit up and nearing completion as we welcome visitors and residents to the City of Detroit
- Partners at DTE lit the sign last night, and it's beautiful
- Landscaping will be completed this week, area fenced off to help prevent sign fans from being injured
- Five additional Welcome to Detroit signs will be placed in the next week
About Detroit's Gateway sign:
The City of Detroit initiated a competitive bid process in August 2023 for the creation of a total of six signs to be placed along freeways to welcome residents and visitors to the city, to be completed in time for the NFL Draft. This Request for Proposal included five smaller signs and the large Gateway sign, comprised of the letters DETROIT.
Fairmont Sign Company, which for 50 years has been a Detroit-based, family owned and operated business, was selected as the vendor. They employ many Detroit residents, who are proud of the work they've done on the project. Fairmont is the same company that created the beautiful and iconic Fox Theatre sign Detroiters know and love.
Fairmont employees hard at work creating the letter O for the Detroit Gateway sign.District 6 Manager, Eva Torres, grew up in the neighborhood where the Gateway sign has been built. She led community engagement with the residents in the area surrounding the sign to make sure their voices were heard.
The mayor's administration would like to thank our partners at City Council for approving the contract for the creation of all six of these signs unanimously - a 9-0 vote, passed with a waiver, meaning there would be no reconsideration of the contract. The total amount of the contract was $425,434, coming from the city's general fund. The cost for the DETROIT letters was $269,275, and the total cost for the five smaller Welcome to Detroit signs was $135,900.
The five additional Welcome to Detroit signs will be placed at the following locations:
- SB M-39 at 8 Mile Rd.
- NB M-39 at Ford Rd.
- SB I-75 at 8 Mile Rd.
- EB I-96 at Telegraph
- WB I-94 at Moross
The project took collaboration with our partners at DTE, MDOT and the Federal Highway Administration, who ensured both the sign and the fencing would comply with requirements set forth to protect the safety of drivers along I-94.