Grosse Ile officials press Wayne County on multiple bridge repairs as toll-bridge engineering advances

GROSSE ILE, Mich. — Residents and Public Services Commission members urged Wayne County and state lawmakers this month to provide clearer schedules and funding for several county-owned bridges while the township advances engineering for the township-owned Grosse Ile toll bridge.

The public comments and staff updates centered on the long-closed Park Lane bridge and three other county-owned spans residents use daily, including Ferry Road, the Elba Island bridge and the Swan Island bridge. Residents said the lack of timely replies and progress from Wayne County has left the community without a schedule and worried about safety and traffic impacts.

Resident Margaret Shelton said she and neighbors have been tracking county actions and asked the township to press for follow-up. "I think it's worth maybe pushing on the county a little bit just to see where they're at on this," Shelton said. Commissioner Bob Zelensk Lesko said the closure of the Park Lane bridge has put pressure on the toll bridge and local traffic patterns and called for better county communication.

Township staff said multiple funding requests are pending at the state and federal level. Derek (staff member) told the commission the township and Wayne County had submitted requests for state appropriations and federal funds for bridge engineering and replacement work; he said Wayne County had also requested state funding to begin an engineering assessment. Derek said the township had submitted a federal appropriation request for the Grosse Ile toll bridge through "Peter's office," and that state representatives were working on the state-side requests.

Derek described prior county responses as indicating the county was reviewing whether full replacement was required. "They contend that that bridge needed a complete reconstruction versus the options that were presented by the private entity," he said, summarizing the county's position on the Park Lane proposals presented by a private resident.

Separately, township engineers completed a recent inspection of the township-owned toll bridge after two weeks of heavy detour traffic and reported no new significant structural changes. Derek said the township held a kickoff meeting with engineers to begin design work for a longer-term upgrade of the toll bridge. When asked about the design target, Derek said the intent was to bring the bridge to a 36-ton load limit to allow essentially unrestricted two-way traffic for township needs.

Commissioners and residents said better public updates from Wayne County would reduce community frustration. "If people don't know what's going on, they draw their own conclusions," Zelensk Lesko said during public comment. Several speakers urged the township to continue pursuing state and federal appropriations and to involve residents in advocacy steps when appropriate.

The commission documented that several county-owned bridges were identified in earlier county announcements as targets for future work; however, township officials said those county timelines had not been shared with local officials in detail. Derek said the township would continue to push for clarity and would provide updates as engineering and appropriation work progresses.

The commission did not take a formal vote directing a specific course of legal or construction action at the meeting; staff said anticipated state and federal funding decisions and county engineering schedules will determine next steps.