Inspection and inventory of county bridges planned even though federal funds dry up

The county will spend $375,000 this year to do a comprehensive review of all the bridges and culverts in Genesee County, though its unclear yet how replacement and repair of tired old bridges will be funded.

The legislature has discussed a bond issue for bridge and culvert replacement, which may be necessary because the pot of money from the state and feds for highway work is getting smaller and smaller.

More fuel-efficient cars and people driving less is putting a squeeze on gas tax revenue. At the same time, according to County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens, the cost of asphalt, concrete and steel is skyrocketing.

"It sounds kind of funny that fuel-efficient cars is a bad thing for highway funding, but the way our gas tax is set up, it’s a set amount per gallon," Hens said. "It’s 18.4 cents per gallon, that goes to our highway bridge trust fund. As vehicles become more efficient they use less gas, people drive less overall because of public transit, (so) the actual revenue generated by that set amount tax drops over time."

The funding squeeze on federal highway grants has the state being more judicious about how it allocates funding, Hens said. Bridges on heavily traveled interstate highways are getting the priority, which from an engineering standpoint, Hens said, is understandable.

Some some bridges -- such as the Bethany Center Road Bridge over Route 20 -- that are in dire need of replacement are being left to decay.

The Bethany Center bridge has lost so much concrete to weather and age that rusted rebar is now visible in spots.

It was originally scheduled for replacement in 2011, but cuts in funding pushed the project to at least 2015, Hens said, and now it doesn't look like it will be replaced even then.

For the county's bridges, several -- such as South Lyon Street and Stroh Road -- have been pushed back on the replacement schedule because of fewer federal dollars and higher costs.

Still, the planned capital review project for bridges and culverts will allow engineers to inventory and inspect the county's bridges and determine their current state of possible disrepair. That work will help the county better prioritize the limited resources for bridge and culvert replacement.

The funding for the project is part of the county budget and comes from the 1-percent sales tax for capital projects.

As for the drop in fuel tax, Hens said state and federal officials have floated the idea of making the fuel tax a percentage of the overall sale so the amount paid fluctuates with the price of gas, or simply adding as much as 40 cents per gallon to the price of gas.

Hens doesn't think either idea will get much political support.

There's also the idea of using a car's black box -- all newer cars have them -- to record and report miles traveled. Drivers would then pay an additional tax when they file their tax returns with the IRS.

Hens didn't take a position on any of these ideas, he just said that's what's being discussed in Albany and Washington, D.C.