Well-Worn Rouge River Bridge Gets Another Band-Aid Repair

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) Anyone who travels to and from downriver knows what a bumpy ride it presents, and now work crews are putting another bandage on the well-worn Rouge River Bridge.

At some spots, daylight is visible through the concrete.

Work started Thursday morning in the right lane, both directions, on the bridge that spans southwest Detroit, according to WWJ's Ron Dewey who spoke to people who travel along I-75 Thursday morning.

"You don't have road up there to get over, as soon as you get on that freeway there, you have to starg getting over because the fast lane seems like the only one up there that's safe," said driver Rich Barney

Barney blames overweight trucks.

The two-week patching project will have one lane closed throughout the day, with multiple lanes closed overnights and weekends.

This project comes as legislators approved a massive roads plan to invest more than a billion dollars to fix Michigan's crumbling roads. The plan includes a 20 percent hike in vehicle registration fees and a 7.3-cent gasoline tax increase.

The bill is awaiting a signature from Gov. Rick Snyder, who says he will approve it.

The plan generates $600 million a year for deteriorating roads and bridges in 2017 and more in future years until topping out at $1.2 billion in 2021 and beyond.

No schedule for which roads will be repaired first has been released.