A recent Freedom of Information request reveals the proposed bridge-and-road project near Traverse City will cost triple the original estimate.
If built, it will be the most expensive county-owned bridge in the nation.
The Grand Traverse County Road Commission announced nine months ago that the proposed Hartman-Hammond bridge-and-road project would cost $100 million. The cost is now $320 million.
Despite facing multiple rejections from voters and state and federal regulators since the late 1980s, the road commission persisted in resurrecting the project.
Last year, the road commission’s board of directors unanimously voted to construct the 1.9 mile road and its 2,200 foot bridge in an effort to alleviate traffic congestion.
However, this decision contradicts the findings of the county road commission’s 2019 study, which was conducted to justify the need for the project in the area.
The study instead recommended pursuing a “mix of fixes” across the county road system to address the traffic congestion issues in the region.
Kelly Thayer is the independent project consultant working with Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, which filed for the FOIA request. He said community members are confused as to how the estimated cost could increase so much in less than a year.
“It's beyond belief that a project's cost could triple in 9 months when inflation is single digits. There is no rational explanation except that the prices earlier were an underestimate perhaps to build some level of support with the public,” said Thayer.
Adding to the complexity, a lead project consultant stated back in June that the Michigan Department of Transportation will not fund the bridge since it would be a local project and not the once planned centerpiece of a state highway bypass, making the project even more expensive for locals.
Since 2019, the road commission has spent around $4.5 million on studies to justify the project’s necessity, nearly matching the total amount county voters approved in 2020 for local road repairs. This had raised controversy among opponents of the bridge, who alleged that the road commission prioritized costly studies over essential road maintenance.
Thayer says many from the community were shocked to learn about the increased estimate of the bridge.
“There’s been a lot of reaction and it’s all been the same from the public and even from the road commissioners themselves, which is shock,” Thayer said. “When was the road commission manager going to tell the public that the price has tripled? He’s known that since March… It seems that someone has to explain what’s going on there.”
