From August 31, 2022

Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has awarded $50 million to reimburse Michigan for emergency road and bridge repairs made in 2020 after dam failures and flooding in mid-Michigan. Michigan was awarded one of the largest grants in the country, receiving nearly 10% of the $513 million awarded under the Emergency Relief Program.

“This grant will bring federal taxpayer dollars back to Michigan and help us continue to fix the damn roads and bridges,” said Governor Whitmer. “In 2020, after historic flooding and dam failures, we took action to fix impacted roads and bridges, and I am grateful that Michigan is getting that money back. Since I took office through the end of this year, we will fix 16,000 lane miles of road and 1,200 bridges, and we need to maximize every dollar we have to invest in our infrastructure and make it easier for families and businesses to get around our state. We have been through a lot over the last couple of years, but tough times call for tough people, and we will keep getting things done and moving Michigan forward.”

“These funds with help communities across our nation repair roads and bridges damaged by severe weather events, which are becoming increasingly common because of climate change,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “From recent hurricanes that struck the Gulf Coast, to wildfires in California and floods and mudslides in numerous states, we must address the devastating impacts of climate change and work to build more sustainable transportation infrastructure to better withstand its impacts for years to come.”

“This critical funding will provide Michigan with even more resources to invest in our infrastructure and make Michigan's communities more resilient," said Zach Kolodin, Chief Infrastructure Officer for the State of Michigan. “We look forward to working with local communities to identify funding opportunities that will enable them to complete infrastructure projects that will be transformational.”

Following extensive flood damage caused by dam breaches in May 2020, nearly 30 roads and bridges across the region were closed and suffered damage. In Midland and Gladwin counties, three bridges within a 2-mile distance were closed to traffic after being washed away. US-10 at Sanford Lake was also closed to traffic due to extreme scour of bridge piers and the bridge approaches being washed away.

For the following two years, MDOT has been working closely with FHWA, the Midland County Road Commission, and the village of Sanford to reestablish mobility across Midland and Gladwin counties.

US-10 at Sanford Lake in Midland County

After the flooding, US-10 at Sanford Lake in Midland County was closed to traffic during the flooding and remained closed due to damage sustained to the piers and bridge approach on both sides. The location was inspected by MDOT staff about 24 hours post flood, and an emergency contract let for bidding two days later. The awarded contractor mobilized on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and worked seven days a week for two weeks to ensure one bound of US-10 would reopen as soon as possible. On Thursday, June 4 crews opened the eastbound US-10 bridge, and put both directions of traffic on that bound. By the first week of July (about 5 weeks post flood), traffic was restored to normal on US-10 and crews turned their attention to remaining projects.

Original source can be found here.