A new national report released overnight shows hundreds of the state's bridges are falling apart.
The report takes into consideration several key factors in its findings.
Released by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, the report points to more than 1,200 bridges across the state as being structurally deficient.
In their findings, the organization says it means one or more of the key bridge elements such as the deck, super structure or substructure is considered to be in "poor" or worse condition.
Most recently, we've seen the worst of the worst with the Rouge River Bridge and I-75.
Just in the last few weeks, we've seen MDOT close down a portion of southbound I-75 over the Rouge River Bridge to begin a complete overhaul of the bridge's deck and substructure.
The report also calls out upwards of 1,600 bridges as functionally obsolete - meaning, in short, the design standards don't meet current guidelines.
Michigan has four of the most traveled bridges needing the most attention. Here they are in order as they appear in the report:
#87 Second Boulevard over I-94 in Detroit
#161 M-39 over Rouge River in Dearborn
#211 I-75 over Fort Street in Detroit
#212 I-75 over Rouge River Dearborn St in Detroit
The report also points to several bridges in Oakland County and one in Macomb with the most traffic needing attention.
In Michigan, the work is already beginning by MDOT to make improvements to many of the bridges needing work including that major portion of I-75 and the Rouge River Bridge.
