At midnight on Tuesday, a man looked down at the traffic from an overpass on Interstate 696 in northern Detroit and considered the fall, police said.

From the photos, it looked like a drop of more than seven metres. By the time the first officers got to the Coolidge Highway bridge - about 1am, Fox 2 reported - the man was still there, deciding which way to go.

Police blocked off the lanes under the bridge, and negotiators started to talk to the man. They urged him to walk off the bridge and continue his life.

Below, the highway was closed in both directions, Fox 2 reported.