Washtenaw County Road Commission chooses top five bridges for possible state funding
Three bridges in Saline Township and one each in Dexter Township and Lima Township were unanimously chosen as the five local bridges that will be submitted to the state for possible replacement in the 2014 fiscal year.
List month, the Washtenaw County Road Commissioners looked at a list of the Top 10 bridges that needed work and Tuesday afternoon that list was reduced to five.
They are the Austin Road bridge over the Saline River, the Austin Road bridge over the Bauer Drain and the Feldcamp Road bridge in Saline Township, the Liberty Road Bridge over the Mill Creek in Lima Township and moving up the list is the McGregor Road bridge over the Portage Lake outlet in Dexter Township.
Road Commission officials have until May 1 to submit the bridge applications to the state Department of Transportation for possible funding.
“That doesn’t mean they’ll be funded,” said Roy Townsend, director of engineering and the county highway engineer.
“The McGregor Road bridge moved up because of the number of people that travel over it,” Townsend said.
It’s estimated that 8,000 to 10,000 vehicles travel over the bridge and the estimated cost for replacement is $1.535 million.
“That bridge needs to be fixed,” said Road Commissioner Fred Veigel. “Summer and winter, it’s a main drag and it definitely needs fixing.”
All five bridges are slated for replacement. The Austin Road Bridge over the Saline River has an estimated replacement cost of $1.125 million; the Austin Road bridge over the Bauer Drain has an estimated replacement cost of $755,000, while the cost for replacing the Feldcamp Road bridge is estimated at $1.235 million.
Lima Township’s Liberty Road Bridge is currently closed and listed in critical condition with an estimated cost of $955,000 to replace.
“The Road Commission would be responsible for the design, right-of-way, construction engineering, and the local match for the construction costs,” Townsend said.
If the bridge is located on a local road, the township would be responsible for sharing 50 percent of the local costs with the Road Commission.
The Saline Township Board has already approved a resolution to cover its share of the funding for the three bridge replacements. MDOT pays 95 percent of the construction costs for the bridges if one or more of the bridges are chosen for funding.
The alternate for the list is the Zeeb Road Bridge over the Huron River in Scio Township.
Road Commission engineers looked at the list of 111 local bridges in the county and narrowed its selections to a top 10, and then a top five -- based on bridge condition, public safety and economic impact to the area.
Lisa Allmendinger is a reporter for AnnArbor.com and can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com.
Comments
Ann English
Wed, Apr 6, 2011 : 11:42 p.m.
The railroad crossing at Zeeb had closing gates before any of the other railroad crossings along the Huron River from northern Ann Arbor to Dexter. I do remember those gravel haulers from the Whittaker-Gooding Gravel Pit going very slowly up the Zeeb Road hill from the bridge to Miller before 8 am every morning in the early 1980s. Wonder if the former Chrysler plant had anything to do (any heavy vehicles of theirs, by any chance) with weakening the bridge?
Paul
Wed, Apr 6, 2011 : 3:43 p.m.
trying going to milan from manchester no saline milan rd and no austin rd... but we are going green!
SonnyDog09
Wed, Apr 6, 2011 : 3:42 p.m.
"It's estimated that 8,000 to 10,000 vehicles travel over the bridge and the estimated cost for replacement is $1.535 million." what is the time period that the 8-10k vehicles travel over the bridge in? Per week? Per Day? Per year?
zip the cat
Wed, Apr 6, 2011 : 3:02 p.m.
Its pretty ignorant to think that all trucks comming out of the old pit on huron river dr were at legal axel weight I new many truckers who said they could haul all they could load as the county did not bother them
Paul
Wed, Apr 6, 2011 : 3:41 p.m.
that is the county turning there heads not the truckers trying to make a living, so who's fault is that one.
OLDTIMER3
Wed, Apr 6, 2011 : 2:55 p.m.
Right on the mark Paul. What is wrong with the 2 Bridges on Austin Rd. ?
Paul
Wed, Apr 6, 2011 : 2:05 p.m.
Thanks to the townships that shut down all the roads to trucks so now it puts all of them on certain roads instead of spreading them out all over. Not to mention the more fuel they have to burn to go 15 miles out of there way, people are ignorant for thinking its the gravel trains, they are allowed just as much weight per axle as any other truck. It was okay for them to come to your house when it was being built.
zip the cat
Wed, Apr 6, 2011 : 12:51 p.m.
@chip Reed The zeeb rd bridge over the huron river has been there for ever and thanks to the county road commission who let all the gravel trains cross over it for eons from the old pit on huron river dr it now needs replaceing. The only new bridge on zeeb rd is over I-94 and is about 5 yrs old
Chip Reed
Wed, Apr 6, 2011 : 10:47 a.m.
gosh, what's wrong with the zeeb road bridge? now i know i'm old ('cause i still think of it as sorta new)