LANSING, MI — The County Road JAD bridge over the Carp River in Marquette County and the Shubert Highway bridge over Monaghan Creek in Presque Isle County were completed and reopened to traffic recently as the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) bridge bundling program continues to support local agencies working to improve bridge conditions.

These bridges were part of phase two of this innovative program to assist local road agencies in bridge replacements. They represent the last two of five bridges to open as part of a $11.6 million design-build bridge bundle in the northern Lower Peninsula and the Upper Peninsula. MDOT continues to work on phase two and three bridge bundling projects across the state in collaboration with local agency bridge owners.

Bridge bundling, which packages several bridge locations under one contract, streamlines coordination and permitting, increases economies of scale, and improves bridge conditions on local routes around the state. In October 2025, MDOT was awarded competitive federal grant funding on behalf of local agencies, allowing additional bridge bundle projects to be built to further improve local bridge conditions in urban areas.

Over the past five years, this program has delivered 32 bridge replacements and removals to boost the overall safety of the transportation network in Michigan. Coordination and collaboration among MDOT, local agency owners, and consultants has been critical to the program's success. Through its consultants, MDOT provided scoping, planning, environmental clearance, design, construction, and inspection services without any cost to the local agencies.