The state is finally able to replace the deteriorating Lafayette Bridge – an 86-year-old drawbridge across the Saginaw River thanks to a $73 million federal grant – a replacement that can’t come soon enough, as the bridge was closed 20 times for repairs last year alone.
“It’s aging infrastructure that is past its rehabilitation point and needs replacement,” Paul Schiefer, a construction engineer with Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) told MLive. “It’s not as much failure as deterioration of the bridge. It’s caused an increase in maintenance and inspection cycles.”
The state and city first announced plans to replace the bridge in 2014, but two years later those plans were indefinitely postponed for lack of funding. The project is estimated to cost $112 million. The $73 million grant is the second largest road grant ever for Michigan, second only to the $104.6 million federal grant for the reconstruction of Interstate 375 in Detroit. It comes from the US Department of Transportation’s Bridge Investment Program, a $12.5 billion program established by President Joe Biden’s economic recovery program. The state and city are providing the rest of the funding.
“The old bridge, that foundation dates back to 1938, they are supported by timber piles,” Jeff Triezenburg, an MDOT project manager, told the Huron Daily Tribune. “What we know now about the dangers of bridge scour and the unpredictability of rivers, today our foundations would go much deeper and be more resilient to flooding or anything like that.”
Built with funds from the New Deal-era Public Works Administration, the Lafayette bridge received its first major overhaul in 1987 when all its beams and major machinery were replaced. The bridge underwent another rehabilitation in 2005. However, the need for major costly repairs and temporary closures has steadily increased.
The bridge will be closed for three years as construction crews remove the old bridge down to its foundations. The new bridge, made of more than 7 million pounds of steel, will have deeper, stronger foundations, two 12-foot lanes, two 2-foot shoulders, a 5-foot sidewalk and an 8-foot bike lane. Crews will work Monday through Saturday to speed up the process.
The bridge is used by approximately 16,000 vehicles per day and carries state Routes M-13 and M-84 over the primary channel of the Saginaw River.
Bay City is home to four drawbridges on its bustling waterway, with two under the ownership of MDOT and two now under the ownership of the city. While the Lafayette Street bridge is being built, MDOT will redirect traffic to M-25, also known as the Veterans Memorial Bridge, which is another bridge under their ownership.
Under Biden’s economic recovery program, Michigan has received more than $4.4 billion to repair and replace failing transportation systems in Michigan, including $2.8 billion for highway projects, $243 million for bridges, and funding for airports and ports.
Key Facts:
- Bay City’s Lafayette Bridge, an 86-year-old New Deal-era drawbridge, will be replaced with a $73 million federal grant from President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill, as part of a total $112 million project.
- The new bridge will be constructed with over 7 million pounds of steel, featuring deeper foundations, two 12-foot lanes, a 5-foot sidewalk, and an 8-foot bike lane, aiming for improved resilience and safety.
- The replacement project, which is necessary due to the bridge’s deterioration and frequent repairs, will close the bridge for three years, affecting around 16,000 daily vehicles.
