(WXYZ) — The 90-year-old Grosse Ile Parkway Bridge is a lifeline for thousands of Wayne County residents. But despite several closures for repairs in recent years, some of the bridge’s piers are still in poor condition.
For years, the 7 Investigators have led the way in exposing the county’s lack of past bridge inspections, and for the first time we’ve obtained video of the latest underwater inspection of the bridge’s aging piers.
VIDEOS: Underwater inspections of Grosse Ile Parkway Bridge show deterioration in some piers
“The public health, safety, and welfare of some 10,000 plus people on this island are dependent upon that bridge,” said Grosse Ile Township resident Bob Zelasko.
75% of the island uses the Parkway bridge, which typically carries more than 16,000 vehicles each day.
The aging span is also the closest bridge to the nearest hospital.
“There are a lot of people worried about getting to a hospital in an emergency situation. And if they have to go all the way down to the north end [to the toll bridge], with double the traffic it can mean the difference between life and death,” said Grosse Ile Township resident Kathy Walker.
The 7 Investigators were the first to show you how Wayne County failed to conduct the required underwater inspections of the Parkway bridge for 10 years, between 2007 and 2017. We also showed you how the former county bridge inspector who was once in charge of the safety checks on the Parkway bridge was fired for falsifying records and neglect of duty.
- Deteriorating bridge: Wayne County skipped crucial inspection, 7 Investigation finds
- Photo gallery: Underwater inspection shows deteriorating condition of Grosse Ile Bridge in 2017
- Here's how Wayne County plans on improving critical but deteriorating bridges on Grosse Ile
Islanders have endured several abrupt closures in the last few years for repairs. First in 2019, deterioration on the bridge’s floor beams prompted an emergency closure.
Then in May 2020, planned construction began above the water, until contractors had to be rushed off the bridge for emergency underwater repairs to the bridge’s even-numbered piers. Both projects cost more than $16.4 million. In documents obtained by the 7 Investigators, the contractors working above the water criticized Wayne County, saying “We characterize the letting of this project for bid when it was as imprudent because Wayne County… either knew or should have known that the work on this bridge could not safely proceed…”
“Out of 11 [piers] they worked on 6,” said Zelasko.
“Are you concerned they didn’t do all of them at that time,” asked 7 Investigator Heather Catallo.
“I, and many other people are concerned,” said Zelasko. “We were promised a plan back in December of the remaining 5 piers to find out where we’re at. We still haven’t heard anything.”
That last closure lasted 18 months, forcing residents to use the only other bridge, which is a toll bridge. Residents say County Executive Warren Evans’ administration did nothing to help them off-set that cost.
“It cost us about $5,000 that year and a half… to go back and forth to home and school and work,” said Grosse Ile Township resident Mark Mills.
The county has resumed regular underwater inspections, including one last November where a diver inspected both the even numbered piers that were recently repaired, and the odd numbered piers that were not fixed.
The inspection ranked the odd numbered piers in poor condition, which is a downgrade from their fair-to-poor condition rating just a year earlier. Bridge condition ratings range from Good Condition, Fair Condition, to Poor Condition. Within a Poor Condition rating, a bridge could be considered Poor, Critical, or Imminent Failure.
The 2021 inspection report shows there was vertical footing exposed at the base of the odd numbered piers, calling that “an area of concern” that should “be monitored at increased frequency.” The inspector also found “extensive deterioration both above and below the waterline” with areas of “deep scaling, vertical and horizontal cracking.”
“The concern that many residents, islanders, businesses have here is if that deterioration continues - we could be back into a situation where the bridge is suddenly closed down because it’s unsafe for vehicle traffic,” said Greg Karmazin, who’s been advocating for more information and transparency about the bridge’s condition for years.
Karmazin, Zelasko, Walker, and Mills are all part of a non-profit government watchdog group called the Grosse Ile Taxpayers Association, and they say one of their top concerns is the security of this bridge. The GITA is technically registered as a Political Action Committee, but the group’s founder says they have made no political expenditures to date and are instead primarily concerned with Grosse Ile issues.
“The county inspection in 2020 recommended repair work on all the piers, but the county chose to only fix the even numbered piers that were in the worst condition – critical condition,” said Karmazin.
Another major concern is the pier protection system on pier number 9 which is listed in poor condition.
VIDEOS: Underwater inspections of Grosse Ile Parkway Bridge show deterioration in some piers
Islanders took us out for a closer look at that system that’s supposed to shield the bridge from impact from boats, and we could clearly see it’s largely underwater.
Grosse Ile taxpayers say other than one Zoom meeting in April of 2021, where residents were not allowed to ask live questions, there’s been very little transparency from Wayne County.
“The lack of information is a major problem,” said Grosse Ile Township resident and GITA member Kevin Flavin.
“I think the county should be straight with township officials and citizens down here. Come down here, explain to the public exactly what’s going on with the bridge,” said Karmazin.
PHOTOS: GROSSE ILE PARKWAY BRIDGE INSPECTION
The Evans administration refused to answer questions from the 7 Investigators as well.
We started asking county officials for an interview on June 17th. Now nearly a month later, county officials continue to refuse our repeated requests for an interview, unless we provided our questions in advance (which ethically is not something we do.)
Meanwhile, Grosse Ile Township Supervisor James Budny told the 7 Investigators that he has been in regular contact with the county and says they do plan to repair the remaining piers but work potentially won’t start until 2024.
The township is hiring their own independent engineer to assess the Parkway bridge – a decision residents’ support.
“This independent engineering group will give us a second set of information that I think will be a major, major plus to knowing really what’s going on. The idea of silence and not talking to the community, I think that’s a bad idea,” said Flavin.
Bridge inspectors conducted another above-water inspection on June 21st. The county is waiting for those results.
After weeks of asking for an interview, Wayne County spokesperson Megan Kirk sent us this information about the future of the bridge. It doesn’t answer all of our questions but provides some insight into the county’s alleged plans:
Regarding Grosse Ile Parkway Bridge:
Wayne County DPS undertook a project to repair the steel beams and decking structure above the water (“superstructure”) of the Grosse Ile Parkway Bridge in May 2020. C.A. Hull was the primary contractor for this over-$7m Federal Highway Administration contract. The project began in May 2020, with the work completed--and the Bridge re-opened to vehicular traffic--in December 2021.
In November 2020, during the course of the superstructure repairs, a scheduled underwater inspection revealed deterioration to underwater piers. Upon recommendations of our inspection team and engineers, the bridge decking was closed to all usage and the work by C.A. Hull was suspended.
A separate contract was undertaken to repair 6 of the 11 existing underwater pier units, including encapsulating them in steel or vinyl framework (depending on location) and grouting of voids. The contract was awarded to J.F. Brennan Co, under an expedited procurement process through the Wayne County Commission. The current contract amount is over $9.4m.
After the procurement and design processes, work began in May 2021 and was completed in November 2021. C.A. Hull was then able to complete their work (which was halted in November 2020). Information about the project has been posted at https://www.waynecounty.com/departments/publicservices/home.aspx
The bridge is scheduled for its next regular underwater inspection in September 2022, and these inspections are scheduled at 10-month interval, which is much more frequently than the normal underwater inspection rate of every-60-months.
An inspection of the superstructure has just concluded, with no report yet issued. The next inspection of the superstructure will be undertaken in six months.
Wayne County DPS is contracting with the engineering firm of Hardesty & Hannover to conduct a full “scoping” of the bridge, which will result in a thorough inspection as well as recommendations for repairs and maintenance and cost estimates for those actions.
“Scoping” is a common step performed by agencies once they know that a structure needs work—it goes above and beyond the normal safety inspection and establishes the cost estimates and overall framework that a bridge designer would use to start their work, including detailed repair recommendations.
The results of this work will allow Wayne County DPS to build a solid plan for future work for the bridge. Through the scoping process, the consultant will make an initial determination of the most appropriate repair options, based on the physical condition of the bridge, economic considerations, and engineering judgment, based on field conditions. The types of repair options that are to be considered run the range from scheduled and preventative maintenance, rehabilitation, and all the way to outright replacement of the structure.
Wayne County DPS is continually monitoring federal funding opportunities and programs for all our complex projects and bridges, which includes the Grosse Ile Parkway Bridge.