The Michigan Department of Transportation is calling attention to the need for more road funding as more than 100 bridges around the state near critical status, including one in Berrien County.

MDOT’s Nick Schirripa tells us the I-94 bridge over M-140 in Watervliet has been listed in poor condition since 1998.

“It was built in 1960, before I-94 was an interstate, and it has only been overhauled once, and that was back, I think, in 1981, if memory serves, which means it’s due,” Schirripa said.

Schirripa says the bridge has received repairs over the years, but MDOT can only repair an old bridge so many times.

“We’ve done the work we can do to it to keep it where it is, but we’re kind of to the point now where it has to be rebuilt. Repair is not an option. And there are several factors that go into that, but that’s where we are.”

In a new video, MDOT focuses on the Watervliet bridge to highlight the need for a road funding solution statewide. Watervliet City Manager Tim Sutherland says if the bridge were to close, the entire town would be affected.

“M-140, I-94 corridors mean transportation in and out of the city, basically,” Sutherland said. “All commerce leaving and going into the city. The way the city is set up, it’s a one square mile city. On the north end of town, the city is divided by the Paw Paw River, which limits our ways of getting transit in and out of the city.”

Schirripa says it would cost around $13 million to replace the bridge in Watervliet, and MDOT’s current five-year plan does not account for it.

The agency inspects the bridge once a year to ensure it’s safe for use, but if the funds to replace it aren’t allocated by 2035, the structure could be closed. That would affect more than 43,000 vehicles each day.

Schirripa says MDOT isn’t advocating for any particular road funding solution, but it is asking lawmakers to come up with a plan to help address the needs it’s facing.

You can watch MDOT’s video below.