Lights added to I-94 Detroit sign; 5 more 'Welcome to Detroit' signs to come in next week

The City of Detroit has been hard at work ahead of the 2024 NFL draft, with more and more ways to welcome the influx of visitors to the Motor City.

A week after the 8-foot-tall sign spelling "D-E-T-R-O-I-T" was put up along eastbound Interstate 94, DTE finally installed LED lights inside the letters to illuminate the sign after dark. As contractors work on landscaping and fencing around the sign, the city plans to place five more signs around the city limits.

While the Hollywood-style letters are recognized as the "gateway sign" into Detroit as visitors drive from the Detroit Metro Airport into the downtown area, the city still wanted to welcome visitors at each of the main five entrances to Detroit, explained Detroit's Deputy COO Jessica Parker as the letters were lowered into place on April 9.

Created by Fairmont Sign Co., which also constructed the letters, the five additional signs will read "Welcome to Detroit" alongside a graphic of the city's green and white emblem depicting the Spirit of Detroit.

Not quite as grand as the lit-up letters, each of the signs — approximately 5 feet high by 7 feet long, according to Parker — will be posted on poles at the following locations within the next week.

'Welcome to Detroit' sign locations

• Southbound M-39 at 8 Mile Road
• Northbound M-39 at Ford Road
• Southbound I-75 at 8 Mile Road
• Eastbound I-96 at Telegraph Road
• Westbound I-94 at Moross Road