BAY CITY, Mich. (WNEM) – The clock is ticking on the Lafayette Street Bridge in Bay City.

On Tuesday evening, November 12, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) provided an overview of its plans to demolish and replace the aging structure.

“It’s important to reach out to residents to make sure they know the project timeline, as well as provide them with information they can use to stay informed about the progress of this project,” Paul said. Schiefer, MDOT construction engineer.

MDOT held an open house meeting at the Boys and Girls Club of the Great Lakes Bay Area regarding the approximately $112 million Lafayette Street Bridge project.

“We want to provide transparency throughout the project,” Schiefer said.

Residents had the opportunity to learn about and view plans for demolition and replacement of the weighbridge and ask questions of project staff.

“He had answers to some questions, but what I was considering, or what I wanted them to consider, is creating roundabouts, like in the middle of the field, where it’s very difficult to turn left , and on both sides of the river, if we had three roundabouts instead of traffic lights where people can’t turn left, it would be totally feasible,” said Bay resident Tom Jablonski. City.

“The response I got, I got a good response, and I’m happy with it,” said Bay City resident John Aguilar. “I mean, this has been set for months, and this is just a time frame that we’ll have to deal with.”

MDOT expects work on the bridge to begin Dec. 2 and last about two and a half years. He announced his intention to keep everyone informed about the project through videos and photos.

“We will have live cameras on each side of the bridge, and every two weeks we will have drone footage taking photos of the area so we can put it out on social media,” Schiefer said.

Once completed, the new bridge will have a common path for pedestrians and bicycles.

The new bridge is expected to open in summer 2027.

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