HUDSON TWP. — The bridge on Beecher Road just east of U.S. 127 that was damaged by fire in 2023 could be rebuilt next year, if all goes well.

County administrator Kim Murphy included an update on the bridge in her June 6 newsletter for county residents. Bridges are overseen by the Lenawee County Road Commission, which is an independent agency and not part of county government, but Murphy reached out to the road commission for information because of the high volume of questions the county has been receiving about the bridge.

The bridge crosses Saint Joseph Creek, just east of U.S. 127 and just north of Hudson. It was damaged on Nov. 5, 2023, when an area resident’s leaf burn got out of control. After the fire, the road commission determined it was not able to safely carry traffic loads, and it has been closed since then.

In October 2024, road commissioners were notified that their request for $2.4 million in federal bridge funds for the 2027 fiscal year had been approved. Under the grant, the road commission will be responsible for 10% of the construction cost and 100% of the design and construction engineering.

Bridges must be over 20 feet long to be eligible for state and federal bridge funds. The Beecher Road bridge over Saint Joseph Creek is one of 179 such structures in Lenawee County. According to the road commission, five of those are currently closed and 13 have weight restrictions posted.

The Beecher Road bridge replacement had to compete against numerous other projects for the funds. During the 2024 application process, only $6 million was available across the entire University Region, which consists of Clinton, Eaton, Ingham, Livingston, Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee, and Monroe counties. A total of 66 applications, with an estimated total construction cost of $78 million, were competing for a share of that $6 million, the road commission stated.

The Beecher bridge project is currently in the Michigan Department of Transportation’s design and environmental review process. 

Given the importance of the bridge to local drivers, the road commission asked MDOT about the possibility of an early construction date if all the environmental clearances have been approved and the construction plans are completed. 

MDOT said that was a possibility, so the road commission is pushing to be able to do construction in 2026, although they noted it is still too early to say it will happen for sure.

Previously:

• Burned bridge will be costly to replace, 1/21/2024