Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com

A Livingston County bridge that’s been closed for construction has re-opened to traffic sooner than expected.

The Iosco Road bridge over the west branch of the Red Cedar River Drain, built in 1948, was in serious condition prior to rebuilding, which started August 15th. The bridge had its superstructure replaced and slightly widened, along with substructure repairs and approach work. It re-opened to traffic on Monday, four days ahead of schedule.

The bridge is part of the Michigan Department of Transportation’s bridge bundling pilot project, which continues to close in on completion.

Livingston County had two structures included in the bridge bundling program, on Mason and Iosco roads. Iosco Road, while not as heavily traveled as Mason Road, is a vital connector for many areas in the county.

Livingston County Road Commission Managing Director Steve Wasylk said having the Iosco Road bridge included in the bridge bundling pilot was a tremendous benefit to be able fix the bridge with no impacts to their budget.

This year's bridge bundling pilot project, the first of its kind in Michigan, is repairing 19 bridges in serious or critical condition that are owned by local agencies. Each bridge will have its superstructure replaced, which includes full removal and replacement of the bridge deck and supporting beams.

All of the bridges encompassed by the bridge bundling pilot project were to be completed within 60 or 90 days from the start of repairs.

Sixteen local agency bridge bundling projects are now largely finished, with work on three others ongoing. The last of the bundled bridges is scheduled to be completed by November 20.
The pilot project is funded by Federal Highway Improvement Program (HIP) dollars. MDOT bridge staff and consultants are doing preliminary design and construction administration work for the bridge bundling program.

An online dashboard at Michigan.gov/BridgeBundling provides project updates and shows percent completion, detour routes, and other information for each project.