Talking Michigan Transportation: Fuel tax pauses
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Whitmer joins MDOT to celebrate hurdle cleared for I-375
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toll rates at the Blue Water Bridge to remain the same
Canadian currency toll rates at the Blue Water Bridge – The Canadian rate for eastbound traffic on Port Huron’s Blue Water Bridge into Canada will remain as is following the latest currency parity review. SAGINAW, Mich. - In accordance with the Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) Blue Water Bridge (BWB) parity rate adjustment policy, toll rates paid in Canadian currency (CAD) for traffic heading into Canada will remain the same. Based on the current average daily exchange rate, the roll rates below will be in effect through Sept. 30, 2022.
In 2016, MDOT announced the currency parity policy. The Canadian rate for eastbound traffic is reviewed and adjusted April 1 and Oct. 1 of each year, rounded to the nearest $0.25 and calculated based on the prior six-month average daily exchange rates between the U.S. and Canadian currencies. Travel restrictions to Canada have recently been updated by Canada Border Services Agency. Please review border security criteria ahead of traveling to reduce frustration. The BWB is currently enrolling customers in a discounted commuter pass program. Customers are encouraged to explore the Edge Commuter Pass, offering a discounted toll rate for non-commercial vehicles with no more than two axles. The Edge pass also offers pass holders a dedicated toll lane and 24-hour access to manage accounts online. Questions regarding the Edge pass can be sent to MDOT-BWB-CustomerCare@ |
Bridge demolition requires closing I-75
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 2, 2022 248-361-6288 [email protected]
Reminder: Bridge demolition requires closing I-75 in Oakland County this weekend Fast facts: – I-75 will be closed between I-696 and I-75 Business Loop (Square Lake Road) starting Friday night. – 13 Mile Road will be closed under I-75 until Monday morning. – Local traffic will be able to enter northbound I-75 at 14 Mile, Rochester, Big Beaver, and Crooks roads.
MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. - Weather permitting, the rebuilding of I-75 in Oakland County continues Friday night with a freeway closure for bridge demolition.
The freeway will be closed in both directions between I-696 and the I-75 Business Loop (Square Lake Road) to complete demolition of the overpasses at Gardenia and Lincoln avenues. In addition, 13 Mile Road will close between Stephenson Highway and Agnello Drive to allow crews to safely remove the bridge that carries northbound I-75 over 13 Mile Road. A detour will be posted.
The freeway closure will begin at 11 p.m. Friday, March 4, and will reopen to traffic by 5 a.m. Monday, March 7. Prior to the freeway closure, crews will begin closing ramps at 9 p.m. and start freeway lane closures at 10 p.m. All ramps to northbound I-75 will be closed from I-696 to 14 Mile Road. All ramps to southbound I-75 will be closed from M-59 to 11 Mile Road.
During the closure, northbound I-75 traffic will be detoured west on I-696 to northbound M-1 (Woodward Avenue), then eastbound Square Lake Road back to northbound I-75. Entrance ramps to northbound I-75 will remain open from 14 Mile Road to Crooks Road/Corporate Drive for local traffic. Southbound I-75 traffic will use westbound Square Lake Road to southbound M-1, then eastbound I-696 back to southbound I-75.
Follow I-75 modernization progress on the web at www.Modernize75.com, or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Modernize75 or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Modernize75.
### Protect workers. Protect drivers. Safe work zones for all. www.Michigan.gov/
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MDOT bridge bundling pilot projects starting
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MDOT bridge bundling pilot projects starting Fast facts: LANSING, Mich. - A Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) initiative to bundle bridge projects together to make them more cost-effective is getting underway in March. A pilot project, the first of its kind in Michigan, encompasses 19 bridges owned by local agencies. MDOT expects bridge bundling, which covers several bridge locations under one contract, to streamline coordination and permitting, increase economies of scale, and improve bridge conditions on local routes around the state. MDOT is working to expand the approach, already in use on state trunkline projects, to address locally owned bridges. “This is the most supportive program from the State of Michigan for local bridges that I’ve ever seen,” said Wayne Harrall, deputy managing director for engineering at the Kent County Road Commission. “The MDOT Bureau of Bridges has engaged with local agencies from the beginning, before there was even funding allocated to the effort.” State transportation departments are charged by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) with ensuring all public bridge inspections are performed correctly and on time. Bridge bundling offers a higher level of support to local units of government to reduce the number of bridges in serious and critical condition statewide. MDOT provides a neutral third party with engineering and contract negotiation expertise, along with additional funding, to the bridge bundling program. “The pilot includes 19 local agency-owned bridges around the state with major bridge elements in serious or critical condition,” said MDOT Chief Bridge Engineer Matt Chynoweth. “The scope of work for these bridges is superstructure replacement, which includes full removal and replacement of the bridge deck and supporting beams. Under the pilot program, all bridges will be rebuilt this year, beginning in March. The contract requirements call for them to be finished in 60 or 90 days.” Harrall said that the program has him more encouraged about the future of local bridge conditions than he’s ever been in his more than 30-year career. “This pilot program will see 19 bridges brought to a condition where they should last another 50 years,” Harrall said. “Allowing millions of dollars to stay in the local bridge pot, where they can fix other structures, will hopefully get us into a position where can better preserve and maintain the local bridge system.” The 19 bridges to be rebuilt this year, along with scheduled start dates and contracted length of the project, are: Clinton County: Herbison Road (March 1, 90 days), Tallman Road (April 15, 90 days) During work, all bridges will be closed and detoured as requested by the local agencies. Chynoweth said the projects will stay largely within the existing bridge ”footprints” with minor road work to accommodate new bridge elevations or changes in cross-section to meet current geometric requirements. The public has a new tool to track the initiative. An online dashboard at Michigan.gov/BridgeBundling will provide project updates and show percent completion, detour routes, and other information for each of these projects. MDOT expects to provide photos during the construction process, as well. By combining several contracts into one, bridge bundling allows one contractor, or one group of contractors, to work on multiple bridges in several locations, simultaneously, if needed. This can bring taxpayer savings through the standardization of bridge components and mobilization costs. The contract for the pilot program was awarded last year when local agencies and MDOT collaborated on the design and coordination of the project with a joint venture of two bridge contractors, C.A. Hull and Anlaan, for the low bid of $24.3 million. Alfred Benesch & Co. was the lead design firm. In 2021, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s FHWA awarded MDOT nearly $978,000 to further its bridge bundling efforts on local agency routes, developing a framework for expanding the program. This grant was one of only seven awarded nationwide. MDOT estimates $2 billion is required just to get all state-owned bridges up to good or fair condition, and another $1.5 billion to do the same for all local agency-owned bridges. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Legislature appropriated $196 million in federal COVID relief funds in a Fiscal Year 2021 supplemental budget request for the next phase of the bridge bundling program. With this funding, MDOT anticipates the state can rebuild another 50 bridges or more, addressing bridges prioritized as critical to regional mobility and safety. |
A Black History Month view from a veteran transportation leader
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