LANSING, Mich. -- Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced that major repairs on local bridges continue this month as the Michigan Department of Transportation's (MDOT) bridge bundling project moves forward. The bridge bundling program is possible due to $196 million in funding signed into law by Governor Whitmer, which will allow the state to execute Phase II of the program, beginning later this year on 59 bridges. Five bridge bundling projects started in March as part of a pilot program to repair 19 bridges under Phase I. The five projects currently range from 38 to 77 percent complete. All of the bridges encompassed by the pilot program will be completed and reopened to traffic within 60 or 90 days from the start of repairs.
"Major repairs are ongoing on bridges across Michigan as we are continuing to fix the damn roads to keep drivers safe and save them time and money," said Governor Whitmer. "Since I took office, Michigan has repaired, rebuilt, or replaced over 13,000 lane miles of road and over 900 bridges with the right mix and materials, so they stay fixed, supporting nearly 82,000 jobs. Last year, I signed a bipartisan bill that will fix 59 additional bridges across the state, I am proud that our bridge repair program continues to build on our progress. The projects we’re moving forward with will support even more good-paying jobs and keep families safe on our roads. Both my Rebuilding Michigan Plan and the bipartisan Building Michigan Together Plan I signed recently are helping us deliver on an issue that matters to us all—safe, reliable infrastructure. Let’s get it done."
A list of the 59 candidate bridges, which were prioritized based on regional mobility and safety, is available here as part of MDOT’s bridge bundling program online dashboard. This phase focuses on closed and load-posted bridges. Some will be permanently removed while others will be fully replaced.
"We're making good progress toward our goal of improving 19 local bridges throughout the state this year," said State Transportation Director Paul C. Ajegba. "These projects should keep the bridges in service for another 50 years, continuing to connect communities, travelers and businesses. This pilot program will accelerate repairs, streamline construction, spark innovations, and create economies of scale, helping to rebuild Michigan's infrastructure more efficiently."
This year's project, the first of its kind in Michigan, will repair 19 bridges in serious or critical condition that are owned by local agencies. Each bridge will have its superstructure replaced, which includes full removal and replacement of the bridge deck and supporting beams. MDOT bridge staff and consultants are doing all the design and construction administration work for the bridge bundling program.
The bridge bundling program, which covers several bridge locations under one contract, streamlines coordination and permitting, increases economies of scale, and improves bridge conditions on local routes around the state. The State of Michigan is working to expand the approach, already in use on state trunkline projects, to address locally owned bridges.
An online dashboard at Michigan.gov/BridgeBundling provides project updates and shows percent completion, detour routes, and other information for each of these projects. Clicking on the interactive map pulls up details on each project, including photos documenting the ongoing work.
The other 14 bridges to be rebuilt this year, along with scheduled start dates and contracted length of the project, are listed here.
Original source can be found here.
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