FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 27, 2022
Contact: [email protected]
Gov. Whitmer Announces Another Infrastructure Project Completed Ahead of Schedule as the State Continues to Fix Roads and Bridges at a Record Pace
In 2022, Gov. Whitmer is making the largest infrastructure investment in Michigan’s history
LANSING, Mich. -- Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the Rebuilding Our Bridges project on the Sand Creek Highway bridge in Lenawee County has been completed and reopened to traffic four days ahead of schedule as the administration continues to fix roads and bridges at a record pace across the state.
“Thanks to our hard work, we are moving dirt to fix roads and bridges across Michigan at a record pace. With the completion of the project in Lenawee County, Michiganders will have a smoother drive, saving them time and money as they run errands, go to work, or travel,” said Governor Whitmer. “Through the end of 2022, we will fix over 16,000 lane miles of road and more than 1,200 bridges, supporting nearly 89,000 jobs. The bipartisan budget I recently signed, will continue to support more projects like these across the state. The projects we’re moving forward with will support more good-paying jobs and deliver on an issue that matters to us all—safe, reliable infrastructure.
With the completion of the Sand Creek Highway over River Raisin, Governor Whitmer’s Rebuilding Our Bridges program has delivered results for yet another Michigan community," said Tom Lutz, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights. “Our members all across the state are proud to be rebuilding the bridges and infrastructure that we all depend on.”
Rebuilding Our Bridges project in Lenawee County
The Rebuilding Our Bridges pilot project continues to close in on completion, with a Lenawee County bridge reopening to traffic today, four days ahead of schedule.
Repairs began August 1 on the Sand Creek Highway bridge over the south branch of the River Raisin. The bridge, built in 1963, had its superstructure replaced and substructure patched as part of the pilot program.
"The Sand Creek Highway bridge was in critical condition and had been closed to traffic since 2017," said Scott Merillat, managing director of the Lenawee County Road Commission. "The inclusion of this bridge in the bridge bundling pilot project has allowed the needed repairs to happen without any cost to the road commission. We are thrilled that the bridge will be open, as it has been five years with a detour in place, affecting school bus routes, commuters, farmers, and emergency vehicles."
About Rebuilding Our Bridges
The Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) Rebuilding Our Bridges pilot program, the first of its kind in Michigan, will repair 19 bridges owned by local agencies in serious or critical condition. Each bridge will have its superstructure replaced, which includes full removal and replacement of the bridge deck and supporting beams. Seventeen local bridge rebuilding projects are now largely finished, with work on two others ongoing. The last of the bridges is scheduled to be completed by November 20.
MDOT expects bridge bundling, which covers several bridge locations under one contract, to streamline coordination and permitting, increase economies of scale, and improve bridge conditions on local routes around the state. MDOT is working to expand the approach, already in use on state trunkline projects, to address locally owned bridges.
The program’s online dashboard at Michigan.gov/BridgeBundling provides project updates and shows percent completion, detour routes, and other information for each of these projects.
Rebuilding Michigan’s Roads and Bridges
Through the end of 2022, Governor Whitmer and Lt. Governor Gilchrist will have fixed, repaired, or replaced more than 16,000 lane miles of road and 1,200 bridges, supporting more than 89,000 jobs without raising taxes by a dime. These and future repairs are made possible by the Rebuilding Michigan plan, a five-year, $3.5 billion investment in our highways and bridges, and the bipartisan Building Michigan Together Plan, the largest one-time investment in Michigan's infrastructure in state history. These strategic investments in Michigan's infrastructure ensure that future Michiganders will have safer roads and bridges to run errands, travel, and strengthen the economy.
Learn more about the Whitmer-Gilchrist Administration’s historic infrastructure investments by clicking on the following link: Infrastructure Accomplishments.
Infrastructure Investments in the FY 2023 Budget
Governor Whitmer and Lt. Governor Gilchrist’s fourth balanced and bipartisan budget expands on the investments in the bipartisan Building Michigan Together Plan signed in April by speeding up replacement of lead service lines, reducing traffic congestion at local rail crossings, improving state fish hatcheries, and funding long-overdue maintenance projects at state facilities.
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