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BURLEIGH Twp. – For those wanting to cross the bridge on Alabaster Road (AKA Siefert) on the southwest corner of the county, you will have to wait a little longer before its re-construction.

Two years ago, a large flood in Whitney Creek eroded the bank under the bridge on Alabaster Road in Burleigh Township and has been shut down ever since.

The bridge lasted since 1912 and helped connect the tip of the southwest corner with the rest of the county. Thankfully for residents of the area, the inter connectivity of the road system means they can easily detour around the bridge until it's fixed.

Other good news is funding for the bridge comes from the Michigan Department of Transportation's (MDOT) bridge bundle. No funding will come out of the county's pocket.

MDOT's bridge bundle comes from Governor Whitmer's $196 million federal COVID relief funds.

The bridge on Alabaster road will be part of Phase II of the bridge bundle project. It is placed under Bundle Description 5 - Medium and high-risk Upper bridges. That category of bridges means construction will start and end between 2024-2029.

Supervisor of Burleigh Township Christopher Stone said while the bridge may have lower traffic and a lower priority of being finished, farmers in the area still rely on it to get their work done.

"It's a lower traffic area, but people are funny. They also like their stuff fixed. The farmers now have to take a much longer route to get around the bridge."

Manager of the Iosco County Road Commission Bruce Bolen said they will work closely with MDOT on the initial planning of the bridge, but it's their main job to complete it.

"Which is fantastic," said Bolen. "When we lost the bridge we were worried because we didn't know whether we were going to do this alone or how much help we would have had from the state."

Bolen said this is a relatively new way of contracting bridge work out. Normally, the local county would request help from the state in assisting with bridge construction.

Nothing planned is finalized, but Stone said the bridge is likelier to be reconstructed 30 feet above Whitney creek as opposed to 20 feet currently.

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