I-696, which has been called "Detroit's Autobahn" by some residents, reflecting a reputation for fast drivers, begins in the west in the city of Novi as a left exit branching off I-96. This ramp is a portion of the I-96/I-696/I-275/M-5 interchange that spans the north–south, Novi–Farmington Hills city line linking together five converging freeways. The freeway curves southeasterly and then northeasterly through the complex as it runs eastward through the adjacent residential subdivisions. I-696 passes south of 12 Mile Road in the Mile Road System through Farmington Hills, passing south of Harrison High School and north of Mercy High School. After crossing into Southfield, I-696 passes through the Mixing Bowl, another complex interchange that spans over near the American Center involving M-10 (Lodge Freeway and Northwestern Highway) and US Highway 24 (US 24, Telegraph Road) between two partial interchanges with Franklin Road on the west and Lahser Road on the east. The carriageways for I-696 run in the median of M-10 from northwest to southeast. East of this interchange, cargo restrictions have been enacted for the next segment of I-696; no commercial vehicles may carry flammable or explosive loads; the segment passes belong grade and between retaining walls that are tall, which would hinder evacuation in the event of a fire. During construction in April 1989, vandals set a fire under one of the plazas, and officials were concerned about the intensity of the fire and the potential for a "horizontal towering inferno" along the freeway section once opened to traffic.