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Ann Arbor aims to replace E Stadium/State bridges

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

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Ann Arbor

Most Ann Arborites realize that Stadium and State Street intersect. But, in pracitical terms, they really don't.

That piece of Ann Arbor conventional wisdom is getting ready to change.

For generations East Stadium Boulevard went over South State Street and the adjacent railroad tracks as if it were a freeway. The only way get from one to the other, no matter what the type of transportation, was through a series of turns onto Industrial and Stimson streets. A lack of sidewalks, excess of dense foliage and steep drop meant pedestrians had to follow the same path as motorists.

"Right now you can't get from Stadium to State on foot unless you rappel," says Eli Cooper, transportation program manager at the city of Ann Arbor.

The city is gearing up to change that. It's going after state funds to replace the two bridges that allow Stadium to go over State and railroad tracks near Michigan Stadium. The new bridges will mean that motorists have to continue to turn onto Industrial and Stimson, but the intersection will become much friendlier to pedestrians and bicyclists.

The two bridges, built in 1917 and 1928, have become functionally obsolete and structurally unsound. The Bridge over State has a Federal Sufficiency Rating of two out of 100 with 100 equaling a new bridge. The bridges lack space for pedestrians on their south sides and limited access on their north sides.

The city plans to rectify all of this with a bridge replacement project worth well north of $20 million. It hopes to secure the funding this year and begin construction next summer. Construction is expected to take two summers, finishing in the fall of 2011. The new bridges are expected to accommodate all mode of transportation both above and below them.

Source: Eli Cooper, transportation program manager at the city of Ann Arbor and the city of Ann Arbor
Writer: Jon Zemke