Luce County Road 501 bridge replaced as part of MDOT local agency bridge bundling program

NEWBERRY, Mich. - ­The Luce County Road (CR) 501 bridge over the Little Two Hearted River, under construction since this spring, was completed and reopened to traffic Sept. 24 as the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) bridge bundling program continues to provide support to local agencies working to improve conditions of their bridges around the state.

The bridge, completed about a month ahead of schedule, was part of a five-bridge bundle in the northern Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula. The $11.6 million design-build package includes replacement of bridges in Benzie, Luce, Marquette, Missaukee and Presque Isle counties in phase two of this innovative program to assist local road agencies. This phase was paid for with supplemental Coronavirus relief funds appropriated in September 2021.

"This bridge is located on Luce CR 501, a gravel primary road that serves as one of the links to the Crisp Point Lighthouse, a popular tourist destination," said Mike McTiver, engineer-manager for the Luce County Road Commission.

McTiver described the old bridge as a weight-restricted steel truss structure with a wooden plank deck. "The MDOT bridge bundling program has been a great partnership to restore full functionality to bridges for public use," he said.

MDOT continues to work on phase two and three bridge bundling projects across the state in collaboration with local agency bridge owners. In addition to these five bridge replacements, phase two of the program includes removing five closed bridges and the ongoing replacement of two bridges in Wayne County.

Phase three includes replacing one bridge in Iosco County that is nearing completion as well as bridge bundles that will be let for bids in 2024, 2025 and 2026. The 2024 bundle includes replacing two bridges in Allegan and Ottawa counties and removing one bridge in Benzie County. The 2025 bundle will include replacing five bridges in Branch, Jackson, Lenawee, Livingston and Monroe counties. In 2026, the bundle will include replacing another five bridges in Bay, Huron, Lapeer and Saginaw counties and the city of Flint.

Bridge bundling, which packages several bridge locations under one contract, streamlines coordination and permitting, increases economies of scale, and improves bridge conditions on local routes around the state. MDOT is pursuing federal grant funding to maintain the program. If successful, this will allow additional bridge bundle projects to be built to further improve local bridge conditions.

Over the past four years, this program has delivered bridge replacements and removals to boost the overall safety of the transportation network in Michigan. Coordination and collaboration among MDOT, consultants and local agency owners has been critical to the program's success. Through its consultants, MDOT provided scoping, planning, environmental clearance, design, construction and inspection services without any cost to the local agencies.

The Luce County Road 501 bridge over the Little Two Hearted River was rebuilt starting this spring. The bridge was completed and reopened to traffic Sept. 24 as part of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) local agency bridge bundling program. (RS Scott Associates photo)