Restoring roads and bridges after mid-Michigan flooding

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation, a conversation about mid-Michigan flooding and MDOT efforts to restore roads and bridges.

Guests include Jocelyn Hall, MDOT’s Bay Region media relations representative, and Matt Chynoweth, MDOT’s chief bridge engineer who oversees the MDOT Bureau of Bridges and Structures.

After days of heavy rains that began May 17 and breached dams near Midland, several roads and bridges were heavily damaged from what is considered a 500-year event. The flooding and rapid currents were especially catastrophic in the Tittabawassee River. MDOT engineers moved quickly to put an emergency contract in place, which allows for restoring the US-10 bridges over Sanford Lake. Of the routes damaged in the region, that route is the busiest for commercial and commuter traffic. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer toured the site Wednesday with MDOT Director Paul Ajegba. MDOT’s Bay Region associate engineer for construction, Jason Garza, answered the governor’s questions and explained the emergency process to repair the bridges.

https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw-bay-city/2020/05/how-a-spring-rainstorm-became-a-500-year-flood-event-in-mid-michigan.html

https://www.wnem.com/news/mdot-awards-contract-to-repair-us-10-bridges-over-sanford-lake-following-floods/article_ba735ac4-9d38-11ea-9b4e-db3c86aaaad0.html

While many of the most devastating images came from Midland, several other counties in the region sustained flooding damage, prompting the governor to add those to the State of Emergency declaration.

https://www.michiganradio.org/post/governor-expands-state-emergency-declaration-include-arenac-gladwin-and-saginaw-counties

Chynoweth talks about the specifics of inspecting, repairing and rebuilding the many bridges damaged by the rushing waters. He explains the concept of scour and how floods and rapid currents erode soil surrounding bridge foundations. The issue was especially acute during these historic flooding events.

https://www.ayresassociates.com/bridge-scour-care/

With climate change and sustained high water creating headaches for shoreline communities across the state and officials from several state agencies planning for more, Chynoweth discusses the challenges of planning and building more resilient transportation infrastructure, especially during an ongoing period of underinvestment.

https://www.mlive.com/news/2020/03/great-lakes-high-water-is-going-to-affect-everyone-in-michigan.html

You can see more photos and find out other information about the routes affected by the flooding at this story map tour.

https://mdot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapTour/index.html?appid=b67dbc1fa24d4a0f9478381dc41c1677