The East Stadium Boulevard Bridges Replacement Project is the City of Ann Arbor's highest priority transportation project. The E. Stadium Boulevard bridges over S. State Street and over the Ann Arbor Railroad carry vehicular and pedestrian traffic in an east-west direction, providing one of the few arterial links between the east and west sides of Ann Arbor. Also, because of the bridges’ proximity to northbound and southbound arterial roadways that connect to I-94 and the downtown business district, the bridges are essential to many commuters. E. Stadium Boulevard is one of the most traveled corridors in the City of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County.
The Stadium bridges are located less than one-quarter mile from the University of Michigan’s 101,701-seat football stadium and the 15,000-seat Crisler Arena. A High School and two Middle Schools are located on or near E. Stadium Boulevard. In addition, there are two fire stations located within two miles of the E. Stadium Boulevard Bridges.
Community Meetings
Preliminary Design Public Meetings (PDF) -
-
Oct. 28, 2009:
-
Dec. 1, 2009:
Update Regarding November 2009 Demolition Activities
On November 15th and 16th the City undertook a project to remove 5 beams from the East Stadium bridge over South State Street in order to assure the continued safety of motorists and pedestrians that utilize East Stadium Boulevard and South State Street. The demolition work went well. In order to perform the work it was necessary to close South State Street while the demolition operations were performed and East Stadium Boulevard was reduced to one lane of traffic as well. All work was completed and South State Street was reopened to traffic at about 5:15 p.m. on November 16th.
To view photos of the demolition work in progress please click here.
Condition of Stadium Bridges
The E. Stadium Boulevard Bridge over S. State Street, built in 1917, and the bridge over the Ann Arbor Railroad tracks, built in 1928, are located about 350 feet apart. Both bridges are functionally obsolete, e.g. they do not comply with today's design standards and lack both the needed horizontal and vertical clearances that are required. The bridge over S. State Street is now considered a temporary structure and must be replaced. The bridge over S. State Street had a Federal Sufficiency Rating (FSR) of 2 out of 100 (with 100 being a new bridge). Any bridge with a FSR of 50 or below can be considered for total replacement.
In the last several years, the City has reduced the allowable load limits on the E. Stadium Bridge over S. State Street several times and prohibited heavy trucks from using the bridges even though there are major University of Michigan Construction projects going on nearby. In March 2009, the City permanently reduced the traffic lanes on the Bridges from 4-to-2 lanes for the public’s safety. The City may be required to close the E. Stadium Boulevard at the bridges, should their condition warrant it. S. State Street is also a major connection to Interstate 94 for the City of Ann Arbor and closing this facility will cut off a direct connection to the University of Michigan Campus and downtown.
Regional Significance of the Stadium Bridges
The replacement of the two bridges at the E. Stadium Boulevard is essential for maintaining this regional corridor that carries over 25,000 automobiles everyday. East and West Stadium Blvd. with their connections to Maple Rd and Washtenaw Avenue form a six-mile long major corridor connecting to US-23 on the east, M-14 on the north and I-94 on the west. The University of Michigan’s Facility Operations is located immediately north of Stadium Boulevard and west of the bridges. There are 1,700 University of Michigan permit parking spaces in the adjacent areas. The UM Athletic Department facilities, most notably the football stadium and Crisler Arena, are also located adjacent to the deficient bridges.
Without the E. Stadium Bridges, the current E. Stadium Boulevard traffic could use the nearby residential streets and will impact the City’s signalized intersections within more than a mile. Other entities impacted by the possible closure of the bridges and the loss of the existing direct link between the east and the west sides of the City will be the Public Schools buses, Public Transportation (AATA) buses (22 buses each weekday and buses during football games), emergency vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians, traffic traveling to Ann Arbor via I-94, and the adjacent City’s and townships. Although the City has not performed a detailed analysis, it is estimated that the indirect monetary cost of the "No-bridges" option at E. Stadium Boulevard and the necessary closure of S. State Street to be in millions of dollars in lost production, increased fuel cost and air pollution.
The Stadium Bridges Replacement Status
To comply with today's standards for under-clearance, both the E. Stadium Bridges must be raised. Due to the dramatic increase in future costs (constructing temporary roadway, retaining walls, and other associated items), increased construction time, limited constructability, the proximity of the bridges, and the relatively small increase in cost of replacing one bridge versus two, the logical conclusion was to replace the S. State Street Bridge and the Ann Arbor Railroad Bridge simultaneously.
In 2005, the State of Michigan Local Bridge Program approved $766,000 for the replacement of thet E. Stadium Bridge over S. State Street even though the estimated cost was more than $10 million for one bridge only. In 2007, the State of Michigan informed the City of Ann Arbor of its decision to remove the $766,000 that once was approved for the project, due to the City's inability to locate and obligate the other funds to complete the bridges replacement.
As of August 19, 2009, the City of Ann Arbor has completed a preliminary design for the replacement of the both bridges over South State Street and the Ann Arbor Railroad tracks. The preliminary design is conceptual in nature, and is the first step in the process of engineering design. Please see the conceptual plans in the links below. The sketches depict the entire layout of the project, divided into three sections, A, B and C, all drawn to the scale indicated. Each section includes a plan view, or a view of the project as viewed from an airplane, and an elevation view looking in the direction specified. Also included are cross sections at key locations and aesthetic options for the railings and retaining walls. The design team entered into the final design phase in September 2009. The construction phase is expected to commence in Spring 2011. However, funding will most likely be obtained through multiple sources, which creates difficulty in stating an exact start date of construction. The replacement of the two bridges on E. Stadium Boulevard can only be implemented with sufficient Federal and/or State grants for the entire project. The City of Ann Arbor has completed a local bridge funding application and has submitted it to the Michigan Department of Transportation.
The preliminary estimate for the total project cost (both bridges) is $23 million. The City has committed $2 million for the project preliminary design cost, however, at this time, there are not other local, state or federal funds obligated for the remaining $21M of the project’s estimated cost.
We submitted our TIGER Discretionary Funding Application to the U. S. Department of Transportation on September 13, 2009. A copy of the completed funding application is posted on our website. The amount of funding requested was $21M. The U.S. Department of Transportation released its list of funded projects in February 2010. Unfortunatelty our project was not among the selected projects.
We have received letters of support for this project from U. S. Congressman John D. Dingell, U. S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, the University of Michigan, SEMCOG, and several others. Also, U. S. Congressman Mark Schauer and U. S. Senator Carl Levin are supportive of the project as well. A broad base of support for this project has been built and we are hopeful that it will pay dividends for us as we seek funding for this project.
Anticipated Project Schedule
The preliminary schedule for the entire E. Stadium Bridges Replacement project was presented at the City Council meeting of August 17, 2009. The complete funding package has not yet been secured, and as a result, this schedule can only be considered tentative.
The revised project schedule, as well as, a complete status report of the project was presented to the City Council on May 10, 2010. The status report contained backgroud information, history, current condition of the bridges, an overview of the proposed project design, a preliminary funding plan, and an anticipated project schedule (updated to reflect expected notices of funding decision(s). A complete copy of this presentation has been posted to this website.
Work on the construction drawings and project specifications for the project has begun. The project is progressing according to our revised schedule.
Update Regarding Project Funding
On November 5, 2009 the City of Ann Arbor learned that they were not successful in obtaining funding through the Michigan Department of Transportation's Local Bridge Program for FY 2012. Recently, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that it will be making available an additional $600 million in additional, competitive, discretionary funding. This funding package is known as TIGER II. Pre-applications for this funding are due July 16, 2010. The City of Ann Arbor will prepare and submit the necessary pre-application package. Final notification of successful applications will be made no sooner than September 15, 2010.
Michael G. Nearing, P.E.
Senior Project Manager
734-794-6410 ext.43635
mnearing@a2gov.org
Conceptual Plans
Frequently Asked Questions
Webpage last update May 12, 2009