On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Matt Chynoweth, chief bridge engineer at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), breaks down a proposal to repair or replace crumbling local bridges across the state.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is seeking $300 million in a Fiscal Year 2021 supplemental budget request to repair or replace hundreds of local bridges that are closed or in critical condition. 

Chynoweth explains how MDOT is offering contract and bridge engineering expertise to create economies of scale and how leveraging the design build process will stretch the funding.

As the Detroit Free Press observed in extensive reporting, the state has under-funded transportation infrastructure for decades. That is especially apparent in the condition of bridges.

Chynoweth also explains jurisdiction and the Federal Highway Administration’s designation of state departments of transportation to ensure inspection protocols are followed by counties, cities and villages in managing their bridges.