East Stadium Boulevard has two adjacent and connected bridges; the overpass of State Street is to the east of the overpass of the Ann Arbor Railroad. Approximately 25,000 vehicles traverse the bridges daily (as of when?). The bridges were replaced in 2012, while John Hieftje was mayor. A dedication plaque on the west side of the State Street acknowledges the assistance of the late Rep. John Dingell in securing funds to replace the bridge.
Originally constructed in 1917 and 1928, respectively, both of the previous structures had deteriorated to the point where vehicle loads have been reduced, some beams had been removed, and traffic was funneled to two lanes. The bridge over S. State Street had a Federal Sufficiency Rating (FSR) of 2 out of 100 (with 100 being a new bridge). The City of Ann Arbor received Federal money to pay for bridge reconstruction.
In the news
The city of Ann Arbor recently requested nearly $14 million in federal funds in an ongoing effort to rebuild the dilapidated East Stadium Boulevard bridges.
- State Board: No Funding for Stadium Bridges; "I don't understand why the university hasn't stepped up", Ann Arbor Chronicle, November 2009
City officials had hoped to secure a portion of the $5.7 million in federal and state dollars awarded by the Local Bridges Advisory Board on Thursday at a meeting in Lansing. But with a limited pot of money, and applications for projects totaling tens of millions of dollars, the eight-member board opted to put the resources behind smaller-ticket bridges.
- East Stadium Bridges Improvement Project is the City of Ann Arbor's project home page. Homayoon Pirooz is project manager.
- Possibility of snow delays lane reduction, Ann Arbor News, February 2009
Traffic headed for the bridge will be forced to merge from four lanes to two from just west of another nearby bridge over the Ann Arbor Railroad tracks to just east of the intersection of Stadium Boulevard and White Street.
