Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (center), along with other state and local officials, cuts the ribbon to celebrate the Miller-Rotunda bridge project in Dearborn today. Substantial work has been completed, and the spans will be open to traffic soon.
DEARBORN — State and local officials celebrated the substantial completion of work on the Miller-Rotunda spans in Dearborn today, as the Michigan Department of Transportation bridge bundling program delivered its biggest project to date.
Bridge bundling is an innovative MDOT program to support local agencies with bridge replacements and removals. The Miller-Rotunda spans — on the Wayne County local road system — comprised an approximately $60 million bridge bundle.
Work started on the project in November 2023, with the bridges expected to reopen on or before June 26.
Wayne County closed the spans to all traffic in August 2023 due to the condition of the aging bridges. Both were built in 1931, last improved in 1983 and were in critical condition before the project. The two connecting bridges total about 1,900 feet in length, crossing over three rail lines, Southern Avenue and Ford Motor Co’s. Rouge Plant access drive.
“I’m honored to reopen the Miller-Rotunda bridge,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said. “This bridge is a key connector in southeast Michigan, connecting Dearborn and communities in the area and serving as a key artery for our state’s economy through Ford’s Rouge complex. I’m proud of our work to fix more than 26,500 lane miles of road and almost 2,000 bridges across Michigan, supporting tens of thousands of good-paying jobs and making Michiganders’ commutes smoother and safer. Let’s keep working together to fix the damn roads and bridges and build a bright future for Michigan.”
“Building a stronger and more sustainable Wayne County has been a key focus of my administration since I first took office over a decade ago,” Wayne County Executive Warren Evans said. “The completion of the Miller-Rotunda bridge project as a primary example of our ongoing infrastructure improvements and upgrades exemplifies my vision of leaving behind a Wayne County that will be in much better shape than when I found it.”
“It’s been a thrill to see this much-needed rehabilitation project go from the appropriations stage from my time in the state House to now reopening as a safer, stronger roadway for drivers,” Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said. “The Miller-Rotunda bridge serves a critical corridor in our city. I am grateful to the efforts of MDOT and Wayne County in making this project possible.”
“The lasting impact of the bridge bundling program will be felt for decades, as these structures safely and reliably connect people, communities and the economy well into the future,” State Transportation Director Bradley Wieferich said. “While the bridges we’ve addressed represent only a fraction of those statewide with significant needs, efforts like the one we’re celebrating today show that bridge bundling is an effective way for MDOT to share our technical and programmatic expertise with our local agency partners.”
Bridge bundling, which packages several bridge locations under one contract, streamlines coordination and permitting, increases economies of scale and improves bridge conditions on local routes around the state. This project is part of phase II of the bridge bundling program, funded by $196 million in federal COVID relief funds appropriated by Whitmer and the Legislature.
In October 2024, MDOT was awarded competitive federal grant funding on behalf of local agencies, allowing additional bridge bundle projects to be built to further improve local agency-owned bridge conditions in urban areas.
MDOT continues to work on phase three bridge bundling projects around Michigan in collaboration with local agency bridge owners. A complete schedule of projects is available online.
Over the years, this program has delivered 37 bridge replacements and removals to boost the overall safety of the transportation network in Michigan. Coordination and collaboration among MDOT, local agency owners, partners and consultants have been critical to the program’s success. MDOT’s team managed and provided scoping, planning, environmental clearance, design, construction and inspection services without cost to the local agencies.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other officials visited the Miller-Rotunda bridge in Dearborn in March 2021. The aging bridge was eventually listed in critical condition and was closed to traffic in August 2023.
The underside of the new Miller-Rotunda bridge today. The project replaced two bridge spans in Dearborn at an estimated cost of about $60 million, the largest and most expensive project in the history of MDOT’s Local Agency Bridge Bundle Program.