MDOT outlines bridge inventory, funding shortfall and bundling strategy to House appropriations subcommittee

Rebecca Curtis, director of the Bureau of Bridges and Structures at the Michigan Department of Transportation, told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Local Transportation that Michigan faces growing inspection and replacement demands across more than 11,000 bridges in the state.

Curtis said MDOT and local agencies divide responsibility for those structures: roughly 4,500 bridges are on state trunk lines, about 5,800 are on county road systems and about 887 on city and village systems. She described how funding is spread across multiple line items and large construction projects, and emphasized that inspection compliance and aging inventories are creating pressure on budgets and delivery schedules.

"Inspection is a requirement of the CFR," Curtis said, referring to the federal Code of Federal Regulations, and she explained that noncompliance with National Bridge Inspection Standards can affect federal obligation authority for the whole state. She added that the National Bridge Inventory data specifications are changing and will require new routine-permit-load information and, in many cases, fresh load ratings performed by licensed engineers.

Why it matters: Committee members heard that limited annual program funding and an aging bridge inventory are increasing the risk of lane restrictions and closures. Curtis said MDOT projects a rising number of trunk-line bridges at risk of closure over the next 10 to 20 years unless investment increases.

Major figures and program structure Curtis and earlier House Fiscal Agency materials presented to the subcommittee laid out the current funding picture and relative scale of work. Key figures cited in the briefing include: - More than 11,000 bridges statewide (all systems combined). (presented by Rebecca Curtis) - State trunk lines: about 4,500 structures (roughly 40% of bridges by count). (Bill Hamilton/House Fiscal Agency) - County…