 MDOT hosted an open house along the <unk> section of M @-@ 6 between Kalamazoo and Byron Center avenues . This event took place on October 2 , 2004 , and was billed as the " <unk> Shuffle " , allowing the public to walk or bike along the freeway . The event was planned to draw attention to the M @-@ 6 Trail that runs parallel to the freeway . Some event participants brought their horses for the chance to ride on the freeway . The whole freeway was opened to traffic on November 17 , 2004 , after a ribbon cutting ceremony . When opened , reconstruction work was still being completed on overpass bridges at the I @-@ 196 interchange on the west end . The entire project cost $ 700 million ( equivalent to $ <unk> million in 2015 ) to complete over the five @-@ year construction period , about $ 35 million / mi ( approximately $ 22 million / km , equivalent to $ 47 million / mi or $ 29 million / km in 2015 ) . When the freeway was opened , it was the first in the state of Michigan to use a <unk> located at the Kalamazoo Avenue exit . All of the bridges and sound barrier walls were painted <unk> beige as part of a " color theme " to the freeway . MDOT also used a new technique to recess the pavement markings into the concrete , designed to reduce the likelihood that <unk> would scrape them off . The signs are in miles , but " the entire M @-@ 6 freeway was designed and constructed in metric " , according to MDOT manager <unk> <unk> . The final ramps opened to traffic on December 9 , 2004 . 
