(The Center Square) – State officials are sounding the alarm bells on funding for Michigan bridges.
This week, Michigan Department of Transportation Chief Bridge Engineer Rebecca Curtis testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Local Transportation.
“Even though we are doing all the right things, the funding is not there to help us move the needle enough,” Curtis said. “If we wait until 10-20 years to address the problem, there will be too many bridges to replace at once and we won’t be able to manage the inventory without closures.”
In her testimony, Curtis also highlighted that the cost of repairs has increased significantly over the past few years due to inflation greatly outpacing funding increases.
By 2029, MDOT expects funding to drop to more than $130 million, which will support the repairs and maintenance for just 25% of the state’s bridges.
More funding is needed now to address the issue, Curtis said.
“We have been losing ground as the amount of good bridges has decreased over time,” Curtis said. “As our funding has no longer been able to keep up with inflation, and also our bridges continue to age out, we expect a faster deterioration rate.”
If they are not able to keep up with replacing bridges, MDOT warned it could begin to see closures rise across the state.
“We have this extremely old inventory, where if we wait 10 to 20 years to address it, there are going to be too many bridges for us to address at one time,” Curtis said. “We need to increase our investment now to prevent widespread closures.”
Many bridges across Michigan are already in need of replacement, Curtis said. Currently, the state has 60-70 bridges closed across the state.
That number will only increase in coming years if changes aren’t made to funding.
“Historically, bridges are being replaced across the country at about 53 years of age,” she said. “The vast majority of MDOT bridges are beyond that year . . . Within the next ten to twenty years, the vast majority of MDOT bridges are going to age-out of what we consider the normal service life.”
According to a press release from MDOT, the state currently has nearly 280 bridges on the highway system rated poor, with more than 100 at high risk of closure by 2035. The state predicts that could impact as many as 1.2 million drivers daily.
“Based on current funding allocated for bridge replacements, the department can rebuild fewer than 10 bridges per year,” the release said. “With a total bridge inventory of just more than 4,500 bridges, MDOT would need to design and build bridges with an average 500-year service life to keep the network in good and fair working order based on today’s funding.”
Currently, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association reports that Michigan has 2,737 bridges that need repairs, up from 2,667 bridges that needed work in 2020.
According to ARTBA, the state ranks 9th in the nation for its high percentage (11%) of bridges which are considered structurally deficient. Of the 11,371 bridges in the state, 1,281 are currently classified as structurally deficient.
