UP Gazette

A Michigan state senate committee has approved legislation allowing private investments in municipal bridge projects.

The bill would apply to all municipalities but was introduced “with Bay City in mind,” anews releasesaid.

 “Bay City has been working for years to find a solution to repair two of the four major bridges that cross the river in the city,” State Sen. Ken Horn ( R-Frankenmuth), one of the sponsors of Senate bills 1215-1218, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, especially after revenues have been even further affected by COVID-19, the city’s repair needs are beyond available funding at all levels of government. These bills would alleviate some of that burden on local governments and the state budget while securing a major economic route for our region.”

The legislation would allow municipalities to enter into public-private partnerships to help manage local bridges.

“These bills offer a new and creative tool for local municipalities to fix bridges while maintaining strong community oversight of each project — which will keep our cities thriving and accessible,” said State Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield), another sponsor of the legislation..

Closing the bridges is not an option because temporary closures have “ shown that a permanent closure resulting from poor maintenance would be catastrophic not only for traffic volumes and public safety in the area, but for the region’s economy as well,” the news release said.

The legislation would be a good way to jump start infrastructure repairs that have slowed during the COVID-19 pandemic, said another sponsor, State Sen. Wayne Schmidt, (R-Traverse City).

 “Our budget is hurting, and revenues are down, but that doesn’t stop wear and tear on our roads and bridges,” he said. “We need to find a way to address these immediate needs, and this is a good start to picking back up on the infrastructure repairs we began prior to COVID-19.”

After passing the Senate Economic and Small Business Development Committee, the bills will now move to the full Senate for consideration.