Fast facts:
• MDOT is reviewing critical unfunded infrastructure needs across the state, including more than 100 state trunkline bridges at risk of closure by 2035 if policymakers don't act soon.
• Statewide, these bridge closures will have a daily impact on more than 1.8 million drivers and the roadways they serve.
• Without a comprehensive transportation funding package, MDOT estimates the capital highway program will support about 2,800 fewer construction jobs in 2026 than the current year.
FLINT, Mich. - As the 2025 construction season moves into its final stages, officials with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) are looking ahead to the end of service lives for critical roads and bridges. MDOT is highlighting this need in a video news release about the I-75/I-69 interchange and one of the critical ramps, ahead of important discussions among policymakers, as the future of road and bridge funding hangs in the balance.
About two-thirds of MDOT's bridges have far exceeded their original design lives. MDOT now faces the possibility of more than 100 trunkline bridges closing to traffic by the year 2035, impacting approximately 1.8 million drivers daily, if a comprehensive transportation funding package isn't secured. While maintaining quality roads is a priority for MDOT, bridge conditions, especially, must meet a minimum rating to remain safe and open to the public.
The I-75/I-69 interchange in Genesee County is no exception to the aging bridge epidemic. Located in Flint, this critical interchange serves as an important corridor for commerce, commuter and tourism traffic.
This interchange needs a complete redesign and rebuild due to declining road and bridge conditions as well as the need for reengineering to accommodate today's traffic speeds and flow. The cost estimate to rebuild the interchange is approximately $1.3 billion.
The I-75/I-69 interchange has 21 bridges in the immediate vicinity, with 33 bridges total that would be impacted by a complete reconfiguration project. Eight of the interchange bridges are in poor or serious condition, including the northbound I-75 flyover ramp to westbound I-69 bridge. This ramp is in serious condition.
The northbound I-75 flyover ramp bridge to westbound I-69 is programmed for a $5.5 million deck replacement in 2030. But officials consider this a band-aid that will not address the needs of the aging bridge, which carries more than 9,000 vehicles per day, or 30 percent of ramp traffic in the interchange. If this ramp closes, the traffic could further backlog an already struggling interchange, further straining the area infrastructure and area commerce.
"It's extremely important to us because, as an authority, we use it very often," said Edgar Benning, CEO of the Flint Mass Transportation Authority. "On a daily basis we go through there. We operate 400 vehicles in this community - all different sizes."
Of MDOT's Bay Region's 15 counties, 21 bridges are currently listed in poor condition and at risk of closure by 2035, affecting more than 175,000 road users and the corridor they rely on daily.
Bridges can take an average of two years to replace, once closed to the public. While bridge replacements are expensive initially, they are considered a long-term asset and are now designed with an 80 to 100-year service life.
"At this rate, by decade's end, nearly 50 percent of state routes, which carry 53 percent of total traffic and 80 percent of commercial traffic, will be in poor condition," said MDOT Director Bradley C. Wieferich. "Without additional investment, those projections will get worse."
"If there is no long-term solution to Michigan’s road-funding crisis, considerable progress in recent years will be stalled, meaning contractors will employ fewer workers and road conditions will decline," said Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Director Susan Corbin. "The effects would spread across industries and communities, causing job losses, shrinking economic activity and creating long-term challenges for Michigan's workers and families."
During a recent Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Rebecca Curtis, MDOT’s director of the Bureau of Bridges and Structures (BOBS) shared the reasoning behind the rapidly declining bridge conditions statewide. Curtis explained that most of the state's bridge inventory was built in the 1950s and designed with a 50 to 60-year service life. Because most bridges were built in the same decade, the structures have aged in sync.
As MDOT works to continue addressing declining road and bridge conditions, securing a comprehensive road funding package is becoming more critical. Following the conclusion of the Rebuilding Michigan program, MDOT will see a decrease of more than half the annual reconstruction budget, bringing the yearly investment for rebuilding roads from $495 million per year to just $222 million per year, and supporting about 2,800 fewer construction jobs in 2026.
