A dicey commute on a stretch of I-96 in southwest Oakland County is about to get a lot smoother — and safer.

A portion of I-96, between Kent Lake Road and I-275, will be converted into a flex route, with construction expected to begin in 2021, the Michigan Department of Transportation said in a news release.

Drivers will use the median shoulders part time for additional capacity during stretches of heavy congestion. The project is intended to minimize the number of crashes and improve travel time reliability between U.S. 23 and I-275, MDOT said in the release.

The median shoulders will be open to drivers heading east during the morning rush hour drive and to those heading west during the busy afternoon commute, MDOT spokeswoman Diane Cross confirmed in an email.

The project calls for a $100 million investment and construction is expected to wrap up by the end of 2021, according to Cross.