Dozens of Michigan bridges will be replaced, removed, repaired
Nineteen Michigan bridges are being fixed this year as part of a state transportation department bridge bundling program intended to save money and improve locally owned structures.
An additional 59 candidates for repair, replacement or removal were publicly released this week — putting the total number of projects at 78 between now and the end of the 2024 construction season.
Bridges selected for this program are mostly in poor condition or worse — some had vehicle weight restrictions and some are closed — and all are owned by counties and cities rather than the state. The first phase of the project involves replacing the deck and superstructure of 19 bridges at a total cost of $24.3 million. (The superstructure is the portion of the bridge that supports the deck, which carries traffic, and connects to the substructure or base of the bridge.)
The list of structures in the second phase includes large projects such as the Miller Road Bridge, which is owned by Wayne County and carries traffic into the Ford Rouge plant in Dearborn. The critical-condition bridge has hundreds of temporary supports holding it together, which allows it to remain open to traffic. It will be replaced next year at a cost of approximately $66.7 million, according to the state.
The Free Press has been tracking Michigan bridge conditions and funding for the last several years. In a 2019 investigation, we found "a nightmarish portrait that requires attention."
For many local bridge owners, the improvements are long overdue.
Troy White, Jackson's assistant city engineer, says it seems like bridges have been getting worse faster than the funding to make them better. "The deterioration is outpacing the rehabilitation," he said.
The city of Jackson owns 14 bridges. Currently, four are in poor condition, including the East Washington Street Bridge over Grand River which is part of the bridge bundling initiative. The repairs are scheduled to be completed by month's end.
"It's going well," White said. "I hope they do expand and maybe more of our bridges will make that program."
Cities like Lapeer and Jackson and counties like Clinton, Macomb, Ottawa and St. Clair were among the first to start work in March. The work is expected to take 60 to 90 days for each bridge and be completed by the end of the year.
The second phase of 59 bridges is funded by $196 million in federal COVID-19 relief, with projects planned from now until Sept. 30, 2024.
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Just north of Grand Haven, the West Spring Lake Road Bridge, also known as Smith's Bridge, is in serious condition and is scheduled for repair. Owned by the city of Ferrysburg, the bridge connects two residential areas and has vehicle weight restrictions. The work is planned for 2024 at a cost of about $9.9 million.
Sandy Prantera, 82, and her husband have lived in their home on 33 Mile Road in Armada Township for "50 beautiful, wonderful lovely years," she said.
Construction began last month on the bridge that carries traffic over Coon Creek on their quiet dirt road.
"I think they are doing a good job," she said. "It's OK by me."
Three Macomb County bridges are in the first phase of the program. Among county-owned structures, 14% are in poor condition.
In addition to the bridge bundling work, county officials say they will be completing work on four fair-condition bridges and one poor-condition bridge — New Haven Road Bridge over East Branch Coon Creek — this construction season.
On the west side of Michigan, construction is over halfway complete on the Byron Road Bridge in Ottawa County. The concrete structure was in serious condition and had weight restrictions before work began.
Brett Laughlin, managing director of the Ottawa County Road Commission, told the Free Press in an email that the agency "is excited to be part of the program and is hopeful the legislature will continue (it)."
Seven percent of the 135 Ottawa County-owned bridges were in poor or worse condition, according to the latest bridge inspection data in March.
Michigan bridge conditions
Counties, cities and villages own a majority — 59% — of the 11,000-plus bridges in Michigan.
Measured by bridge deck area, though, the state has more to maintain than local owners do.
Federal regulations require inspections of bridges longer than 20 feet on public roads at least once every two years of all bridges longer than 20 feet on public roads, and more frequently for seriously deteriorating bridges.
MORE:Wayne County has struggled to inspect its bridges, state also under scrutiny
In order to be rated poor, at least one component of the bridge — such as its deck, substructure or superstructure — will have a rating of 4 or less on a 0-9 scale.
Michigan ranks ninth among states for its percentage (11%) of bridges in poor condition last year, according to U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration data. Nationwide, about 7% of bridges are in poor condition.
Over the last decade, the percentage of local bridges in poor condition was roughly double the rate of poor-condition bridges managed by the Michigan Department of Transportation.
Federal funding
Additional funding for bridges is earmarked in the recently passed bipartisan infrastructure deal, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The federal legislation is estimated to provide the state with $563 million for bridge work over five years. The 2022 fiscal year appropriation for Michigan's bridges is approximately $112.6 million; about $28 million will be spent on locally owned bridges.
Yet the latest MDOT estimates project it will cost about $2 billion to replace all state-owned bridges in poor condition and $2 billion to repair or replace locally owned bridges in poor condition — more than 1,200 structures in poor or worse condition.
Rising construction and fuel costs threaten to reduce the number of bridges that get fixed, too.
"We are seeing significant increases to the cost of [bridge] replacements," said Rebecca Curtis, deputy chief bridge engineer at MDOT.
More: Michigan's bridges are bad — and a fix could take nearly a century
More: Thank heavens: They finally got their bridge fixed; many communities still suffer
Should drivers expect to see an improvement in Michigan bridge conditions in the near future? Not really.
"The reality is we are just holding steady, maybe even continuing to decline even with the additional funding," Matt Chynoweth, director of MDOT's bridge program, said.
"These bridges require rehabilitation work to stay fair or to increase condition to good and the construction cost increases related to those bridge projects are resulting in fewer bridge projects per year," he said.
Contact Kristi: ktanner@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @midatalove.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan bridge bundling program to repair, replace, remove structures
