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.
- The US-31 Business Route bridge over White Lake connecting Montague and Whitehall has foundational components from the 1920s.
- 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.
MONTAGUE/WHITEHALL, 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 US-31 Business Route (BR) bridge over the White Lake channel in Muskegon County, ahead of important discussions among policymakers, as the future of road and bridge funding hangs in the balance.
About two-thirds of MDOT's bridge inventory has 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 US-31 BR bridge, known locally as Thompson and Dowling streets, connects the thriving communities of Whitehall and Montague. The bridge was built during the Depression Era, is at risk of flooding during high-water events, and will eventually close if additional funding isn’t secured.
"People come from all over the state, all over the world, really, to fish, boat and take in the natural beauty" said Carmen Vanderkooi, a longtime resident and employee of the Weathervane Inn adjacent to the bridge. "It's not just convenience, it's safety. Closing this bridge would have major impacts on response times for police, fire, ambulance… all first responders. We need this bridge."
Of the MDOT Grand Region’s 13 counties in west Michigan, 47 bridges are currently listed in poor condition and at risk of closure by 2035, affecting more than 243,000 road users and the corridor they rely on daily. Bridge replacements can take on average 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 Susan Corbin, director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO). "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 bond funding 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.
