Title
Resolution in Support of TIGER II Grant Application for Stadium Bridges
Body
Whereas, The Stadium Boulevard Bridges in Ann Arbor run through the heart of the City, creating the most direct connection between the east side and the west side, and beyond;
Whereas, The bridge over S. State Street was built in 1917 and the bridge over the Ann Arbor Railroad tracks was built in 1928;
Whereas, The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program administered through the US Department of Transportation has announced over $600 million dollars in funding for projects across the nation;
Whereas, The E. Stadium Bridges Replacement Project is "shovel-ready";
Whereas, Stadium Boulevard across these bridges is one of the most traveled corridors in the City of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County, and the bridges provide direct access to the University of Michigan, including the football stadium, which is the largest such stadium in the country;
Whereas, The bridges connect a driving force behind the economy of Ann Arbor, to major freeways that employees, students, residents and visitors use every day to commute to Ann Arbor, including I-94, US-23 and M-14;
Whereas, Over 28,000 automobiles use the bridges every day;
Whereas, The bridges connect Ann Arbor Public School students to one of the largest high schools in the State of Michigan, Pioneer High School, which is located just a few blocks west of the bridges;
Whereas, Two fire stations are located within two miles of the Stadium Bridges, which provide critical access to the U-M campus and to thousands of residents;
Whereas, The 2010 revised Federal Sufficiency Rating (FSR) for the bridge over S. State Street is 20.2 out of 100, indicating the poor condition of this structure;
Whereas, The City has already removed the most damaged beams and reduced the width of the bridge from four lanes to two lanes;
Whereas, The City reduced the allowable load limit on the bridge over State St. and even prohibited heavy trucks from using the bridges several years ago;
Whereas, If the City were to have to close the bridges the economy of the Ann Arbor area would suffer greatly;
Whereas, The goal of the TIGER program is to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery through projects that will provide long-term economic benefits;
Whereas, Modeling by the City of Ann Arbor has found that the Stadium Bridges project would generate over $53 million in real economic output (measured in 2009 dollars) with over $13 million of economic output generated in 2010; and
Whereas, This modeling has found that the project would create approximately 448 full-time jobs during the peak of the project; positions which are well-paying and much-needed in Southeast Michigan.
RESOLVED, That the Mayor and City Council of Ann Arbor support any and all efforts to secure the necessary funding through the TIGER Grant Program for the replacement of the Stadium Bridges.
Submitted by:
Councilmembers Margie Teall, Marcia Higgins and Mayor Hieftje