Washtenaw County has the dubious distinction of having the most closed bridges in the state with five on its local roads, according to County Road Association of Michigan annual bridge findings released today.

Four of those closed bridges are in Lima Township and one is in Sharon Township, which are all western Washtenaw communities. This is the first time the association has compiled such a list.

“One-third of our bridges are structurally deficient, which is definitely a pretty high percentage,” said Roy Townsend, county highway engineer.

• Read the bridge report here.

Macomb and Lapeer counties are next on the list, with three closed bridges each.

Overall, the report showed that of the 8,633 local bridges in the state, close to 16 percent or 1,362 are structurally deficient; 1,146 or about 13 percent have posted weight restrictions; while 77 or 0.89 percent across the state are closed.

In Washtenaw County, there are 46 bridges on primary roads and 17 are considered structurally deficient, while 10 have posted weight restrictions. In addition, there are 63 bridges on local roads and 19 are considered structurally deficient. Ten have weight restrictions and five are closed.

The 2008 reconstruction of the Main Street Bridge in Dexter is one of only a few bridge replacement projects funded in Washtenaw County in recent years.

File photo

There is good news, however, as three of the five closed bridges are slated for replacement this fall — two in Lima Township and one in Sharon Township.

The Road Commission has also applied for funding for five additional bridges, including the remaining closed bridge in Lima Township. But there is no guarantee any of them will be chosen. On the Road Commission list are three bridges in Saline Township, and one each in Dexter Township and Lima Township for the 2014 fiscal year.

They are the Austin Road bridge over the Saline River, the Austin Road bridge over the Bauer Drain, the Feldcamp Road bridge in Saline Township, the Liberty Road Bridge over the Mill Creek in Lima Township and the McGregor Road bridge over the Portage Lake Outlet in Dexter Township.

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.

Townsend said the county continues to evaluate all of its bridges every two years and monitors conditions while applying for funding.

“It hasn’t changed much from last year,” Townsend said. “Overall, across the state, it continues to get worse.”

According to a previous report by the Washtenaw County Road Commission, of the 111 total county bridges, there are 43 in good condition, 30 in fair condition, 22 in poor condition and 16 in critical condition.

But the Road Commissions must rely on state and federal funding to fix the crumbling structures, but neither the state nor the federal government is letting loose with enough money to fund all the projects.

Funding comes from a percentage of the state’s gas tax, and gas tax revenues have decreased by more than $100 million since 1997 — the last time the gas tax was increased.

In 1992, the state program to replace local bridges was funded with $38 million, and about 150 bridges were replaced, Townsend said.

That same level of funding is expected for 2012, and about 27 bridges and 13 rehabilitation projects will be funded.

“So, that’s about 40 bridges across the state,” Townsend said, noting that costs have more than doubled since 1992.

In 2010, the Dexter-Pinckney Road Bridge in Dexter Township was replaced. Before that, the Plymouth Road Bridge in Superior Township was replaced in 2009, the East Delhi Bridge was rehabilitated in 2008-2009, and in 2007-2008, the Dexter Main Street Bridge was replaced.

Lisa Allmendinger is a regional reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com.