The Road Commission for Oakland County announced Monday that a state grant will allow the crumbling Livernois bridge over the Clinton River to be replaced in 2013, a year earlier than previously announced. A Michigan Local Bridge Program grant will cover $2.5 million of the estimated $2.7 million cost. The Road Commission will provide the remaining funding.
“We and our partners at the city of Rochester Hills have worked very hard to secure funding to replace this bridge, following the unexpected discovery last year that the bridge structure had deteriorated badly,” said RCOC Chairman Eric Wilson. “We recognize that this is a significant travel route in the community, and we were determined to replace the bridge as quickly as possible.”
RCOC Vice Chairman Greg Jamian praised the collaboration that resulted in the funding. “This is a great example of a collaborative effort by governmental agencies that worked together to get things done in spite of cutbacks in road and bridge funding,” he said.
The Avon Road bridge near the same intersection is scheduled to be replaced next year. It has been a bottleneck since weight restrictions were imposed that narrowed traffic.
“If we replaced both bridges in the same year, it would have shut down this entire intersection for a prolonged period,” Jamian said.
Road Commissioner Ron Fowkes said that the funding had originally been approved for the bridge for 2014. “However,” Fowkes said, “the Road Commission pushed to get the funding moved to 2013, and we were successful in that effort.”
