A lot of people view road construction as repairing potholes or filling cracks, but many times, it’s the unseen dangers below the surface that cost the most and cause the biggest concerns.

One of the largest infrastructure projects in recent Downriver history arrived in Taylor last month with the closure of the northbound I-75 connector to Telegraph Road.

The Michigan Department of Transportation is investing $18.5M to replace two bridges and improve four others on US-24 (Telegraph Road) from the US-24/I-75 connector to Mercier Avenue, north of Eureka Road. The project will stretch through the 2024 and 2025 construction seasons.

All businesses and residences in that area will remain accessible through this project. However, if you are just traversing the region, drivers should avoid the connector and the general Telegraph Road area between Pennsylvania north of Eureka Road.

MDOT hosted a public meeting at City Hall to discuss bridge improvements and replacements in February.

This year:
• The northbound I-75-Telegraph connector was closed in March while repair work takes place on the connector bridges. Traffic will be detoured via northbound I-75 past the connector to M-39 Southfield Road, then to westbound I-94 to northbound Telegraph
• Earlier this month, northbound Telegraph Road traffic was reduced to one-lane through the fall from Pennsylvania Road to Eureka for bridge replacement over the Frank & Poet Drain. There will not be a designed detour for this lane reduction, but again drivers may want to avoid the area until it reopens.

During this year’s reconstruction, there will be repair work on the connector bridges over Racho Road and the Conrail Railway line. The northbound-side bridge over the Frank & Poet Drain, north of Eureka Road, will be replaced.

Planned in 2025:
• The southbound I-75-Telegraph connector will be closed
• The southbound Telegraph-I-75 connector bridge will be replaced
• Repairs will take place on the southbound connector bridges
• Northbound Telegraph Road traffic will be reduced to one-lane under the southbound Telegraph-I-75 connector and closed during bridge demolition and construction.

During the 2025 construction season, the connector bridge over northbound Telegraph Road will be replaced. Repair work will continue on the connector bridges over Racho Road and the Conrail line, and the southbound-side bridge over the Frank & Poet Drain will be demolished and replaced.

Effective bridge maintenance can save money, decrease environmental impacts and increase sustainability. Bridges are inspected by expert engineers on a regularly scheduled basis, although more frequent inspections are often necessary for bridges in harsh environments or heavy traffic.

Each bridge has its own lifecycle, but it is generally believed that bridges can function for over a half-century. It has been estimated that 42 percent of all bridges in the country are at least 50 years old.

The bridge management and scoping program in Michigan is operated by the Office of Structure Preservation and Management of MDOT. The program is a balanced strategy made up of Replacement, Rehabilitation, Capital Preventive Maintenance (CPM) and Capital Scheduled Maintenance (CSM) that works to efficiently preserve bridges. The emphasis area of bridge management is to address the needs of all structures of critical concern, and maintain the statewide inventory of bridges in good or fair condition.