Construction crews in Bay City, Mich., are laying the groundwork for a key piece of infrastructure, as they tear down the Lafayette Street Bridge. Replacing the bascule drawbridge over the eastern channel of the Saginaw River will mean a safer and more reliable crossing, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).
"The M-13/M-84 corridor bridge over the Saginaw River, otherwise referred to as the Lafayette Street Bridge was in need of a full replacement," said Caitlyn French, MDOT Bay Region communications representative. "Originally constructed in 1938, and rehabilitated in 1989, the aging and scour critical bridge was programmed for replacement in 2020. The bridge replacement was postponed indefinitely when construction costs far exceeded original replacement estimates.
Michigan Department of Transportation photo
"MDOT began analyzing the potential of adjusting the footprint of the bridge or resorting to heavy bridge rehabilitation instead of the full replacement that was needed. In 2023, MDOT was awarded a $73 million federal grant, making the full bridge replacement a reality."
Demolition began the first week of December 2024 and was finished in August. The JV team of Granite and Kraemer North America serves as contractor on the $113.6 million project.
"The new bridge will include a lane in each direction, with a shared-use path along the bridge and connections from an at-grade shared-use path traveling under the bridge," said French. "The former structure had one lane in each direction and five-foot pedestrian sidewalks in each direction."
French said building a new 8-ft.-wide shared-use path was an easy decision.
"While the Lafayette Bridge moves more than 17,000 vehicles daily, servicing both residential and commercial districts, it also attracts significantly more pedestrian/bicycle traffic than the other three crossings due to its location, shorter bridge approach and connection to Riverwalk Rail Trail, a 21-mile shared use path."
During construction, traffic is detoured via M-13 and Wenona/Henry Street west of the Saginaw River to M-25 (Veterans Memorial Bridge) and M-84 east of the river. Drivers may also opt to detour via M-13 and I-75 over the Zilwaukee Bridge to the south of Bay City.
Michigan Department of Transportation photo
To prepare for detoured traffic, MDOT improved several roadways along the detour route, including resurfacing Wenona/Henry Street.
"Many vehicles utilize the bridge for commercial reasons, due to the proximity of the bridge to Michigan Sugar and Bay City Light and Power, as well as numerous local businesses. The structure is also an important crossing for multiple residential areas."
Paul Schiefer, Bay City Transportation Service Center (TSC) construction engineer, said the deteriorating structure had to come down.
"The bridge was in service for a long time. The concrete was in the water continuously hydrating for years, so it's hard concrete that needed to be removed."
Schiefer said replacing the drawbridge down to the foundation is no small task.
"This work involves the demolition of the old structure, installing new steel H-piles into the bedrock and building the new foundation back up from out of the water."
He also explained that the new foundation will be more resilient to flooding.
"The depth of the new pile is going to be greater than the old structure. Right now, we're on a timber pile with an unknown depth of foundations, whereas we'll be driving H-pile into the shale bedrock to ensure that we're getting to the depth where we're no longer concerned about scour during high-flow events.
"Scour is enough of a concern with rivers such as this that the Federal Highway Administration requires special inspections and necessitates sending out inspectors to monitor structures during high-flow events."
As for foundation depth, said Schiefer, "This will be variable, but it will be down to the shale bedrock. The water elevation is typically at 578 feet, and we are going to the bedrock which is at 485 feet."
Michigan Department of Transportation photo
Demolition involved a lot of brute force, with bulky machinery such as cranes and excavators to pulverize the concrete and to remove it from the coffer dams. Schiefer noted the cofferdam installation process was unique.
"We used a size steel sheeting that is not a common thickness that is typically used in Michigan. By using this, we were able to put in a robust cofferdam, while reducing the number of supports needed.
There were two American 9299 cranes that were used to assist with the project. Crews also relied on boats and barges to navigate around the work zone and to perform demolition work.
As with a lot of projects, officials dealt with supply chain issues, as well as long lead times for different pieces.
One unique challenge for crews was staying within the rules of the seasonal maritime restrictions.
"We needed to coordinate with the United States Coast Guard to make sure that construction occurred during the seasonal river closures for maritime activities. While we build the bridge and set the bascule leaves, we will need to make sure that everything aligns with the scheduled seasonal shipping outage."
Schiefer said battling the elements hasn't been an issue for workers up to this point.
"Everything is going as anticipated. We have not had any delays due to the weather so far. This is an expedited contract that requires construction year-round, where our typical construction schedule is April 15 through Nov. 15."
Schiefer is pleased to be playing a part in the ongoing effort, which should be completed in mid to late 2027.
"We take a lot of pride in this because we live in this community. We want to ensure that this is built correctly, and that it's in operation for as long, if not longer than the structure that was previously in place." CEG
(All photographs in this article are Copyright 2025 Michigan Department of Transportation. All Rights Reserved.)
