Bridge Work Closing Busy Commuter Route

ROCHESTER HILLS (WWJ) - A busy commuter route in Rochester Hills was closed Monday for bridge work over the next several months. Livernois Road just south of Avon Road will be shut down until mid-November -- just after work on the Avon Road bridge was completed.

According to Oakland County officials talking with WWJ's Ron Dewey, they had to do the work now to avoid bigger problems later.

Originally built in the 1960's, Road Commission Managing Director Dennis Kolar says it's likely both bridges would not have lasted before the next round of road funding in 2014.

"And as we began to look at these things, they were doing tests about every three months and, as all of you know who travel these roads, they were being more and more constricted, traffic is backing up even further, and we recognized that we needed to do something," Kolar said.

Work on the Avon and Livernois bridges made possible through state and federal funding, with Rochester and Rochester Hills splitting the local share.