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 westbound I-96 bridge over M-39 (Southfield Freeway) is one bridge in Metro Detroit in danger of closing by 2035 if not rebuilt.
- 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.
DETROIT, Mich. - As the 2025 construction season moves into the second half of the season, officials with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) are looking at the big picture regarding the service lives of critical roads and bridges. MDOT is highlighting this need in a video news release about the westbound I-96 bridge over M-39 (Southfield Freeway) in Metro Detroit, 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 its original design life. 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-96/M-39 interchange in Wayne County is no exception to the aging bridge epidemic. There are 19 bridges in this complicated interchange of freeways and local lanes that handles approximately 300,000 drivers a day. The westbound I-96 bridge over M-39, which carries 45,000 vehicles per day, is a bridge within the interchange at risk of closure.
City of Detroit Chief of Infrastructure Sam Krassenstein shared concerns for critical investment to ensure it continues to meet the needs of current industry, residents and people visiting or commuting into the city.
"The I-96 Southfield interchange is really at the center for industry, it's the center for a major public works facility, and for a lot of residents that live adjacent to it," said Krassenstein. "So, for folks that need to go between 96 and Southfield, keeping those bridges open and in a state of good repair is really critical."
Within the MDOT Metro Region's three counties, 180 bridges are anticipated to be in poor condition and 37 of those bridges are at risk of closure by 2035. Nearly 1,000 of Metro Region's 1,400 bridges are approaching or exceeding 50 years old.
Bridge replacements can take an average of two years to design and another one to two years to reconstruct, closing it 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 of roads from $495 million per year to just $222 million per year, and supporting about 2,800 fewer construction jobs in 2026.
