PONTIAC, Mich. – A bridge emergency is developing Tuesday night in Pontiac with significant repairs needed on an overpass that handles a lot of traffic.
Roadblocks are now in place along Martin Luther King Boulevard, with the bridge in such bad shape that all traffic is closed, including bicyclists and pedestrians.
A city inspection in July found the bridge was in such bad shape that it needed to be closed immediately.
Nakia Hammond works at the National Storage Centers, next to the bridge, and she was in disbelief at what she saw.
“I’ve been driving over that every day,” said Hammond.
According to state traffic studies, the bridge is part of the four-lane, two-way Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (also known as East Boulevard), which carries more than 12,000 vehicles annually.
The bridge, built in 1976, crosses the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, which now involves the city, state, and feds.
The bridge has no posted load limits. Images from the July 29 inspection show rusted-through steel supports, cracked concrete abutments, and an area of soil at the base washed away, exposing underground utilities, among other issues.
“How’d it get that bad,” Hammond said. “Nobody is doing anything about it?”
“The bridge is in very difficult shape,” said Pontiac Mayor Tim Greimel.
Greimel says his administration is laser-focused on infrastructure.
“No question,” Greimel said. “This is just one of many examples that illustrates the need of massive investments and all kinds of infrastructure.”
Greimel told Local 4 that there are several reasons why the repair will be fast-tracked as, for one, it has a lot of decay, and two, it runs over an essential railroad system, and he explained the third portion himself.
“The third consideration is the fact that it does provide direct access to the hospital,” Greimel said.
Greimel says repairs will cost an estimated $6 million, with the state covering almost 95%, with repairs expected to begin in early 2023.