Great Lakes Wire

Three bridge renovations in the state are currently underway as part of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's Rebuilding Our Bridges initiative.

The bridges involved in the rehab are the Squawfield Road bridge in Hillsdale County, which crosses over the St. Joseph River's east branch; the Maple Island Road bridge in Muskegon County, which crosses Brooks Creek; and the Five Point Highway bridge in Eaton County, which crosses over Battle Creek River, Whitmer's office said in a release.

"Together, we are moving dirt to fix roads and bridges across Michigan to keep drivers safe and save them time and money," Whitmer said in the release. "Since I took office through the end of this year, Michigan has fixed over 16,000 lane miles of road and 1,200 bridges, supporting nearly 89,000 jobs. Now, as construction season kicks into high gear, we have completed six bridge projects, with the latest completed two weeks ahead of schedule. We are setting up orange cones at record pace as we make the largest investment in state roads and bridges in Michigan's history thanks to the bipartisan Building Michigan Together Plan and my Rebuilding Our Bridges program. Let's keep fixing our roads with the right mix and materials, so they stay fixed, and support good-paying jobs along the way to power our economy to new highs."

The Rebuilding Our Bridges pilot program is on track to rehab 19 locally owned bridges in dire need of repair, Whitmer's office said. The scope of work will involve superstructure replacement as well as totally removing and replacing decks and support beams. Each bridge is projected to take between 60-90 days to complete.

"This is the most supportive program from the State of Michigan for local bridges that I've ever seen," Wayne Harrall, deputy managing director for engineering at the Kent County Road Commission, said in the release. "The MDOT Bureau of Bridges has engaged with local agencies from the beginning, before there was even funding allocated to the effort."