FERRYSBURG, Mich. — The Smith's Bridge in Ferrysburg may be small, but it's a big deal for those who live in the area.
That includes people like Kim Senior, who lives just a few houses away from the bridge.
"There has a lot of potholes in it, and there's a lot of repairs they've tried to do just to mend it in the meantime as we're waiting for a total reconstruction," Senior said. "But it's definitely getting worse."
In desperate need of fixing, the bridge had been set to receive 10 million dollars worth of repairs and replacements. It was part of a statewide program from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), known as the Bridge Bundling Project, that would use federal COVID relief dollars to fix multiple bridges.
That federal funding, however, was taken back by Congress when it struck a deal this summer to raise the nation's debt ceiling.
"There was a clause in there, that any COVID money that was not spent or obligated had to be returned back to the federal government," Ferrysburg City Manager Craig Bessinger said. "So, right now at this time, construction for the bridge is unfunded."
The bridge connects the east and west ends of Smith Bayou, and is the only way to get across without having to go all the way around.
Senior said, without the bridge, it would cause delays in not only personal travel, but also essential services.
"First of all, I'd be concerned about emergency services coming over the bridge and how that would affect the impact of time getting places when people need help," Senior said. "Also, the convenience as of just everyday convenience - it would add another, you know, it doesn't seem like much, but in the long run if you're doing that several times a day, an extra 10 minutes every trip that you have to make because you have to go around."
Hoping to move quickly, city and state officials are now in search of new funding, as the bridge only gets older.
"There was eight or nine in our program that were going to be constructed as part of the building program," Bessinger said. "So, all those bridges are not funded. So, MDOT is working on trying to find funding to replace those bridges."
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Watch 13 ON YOUR SIDE for free on Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and on your phone.