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Feds chip in to rebuild bridge

Officials under Stadium Avenue bridge in Ann Arbor
Congressmen John Dingell's Office
Congressman Dingell, DOT Deputy Secretary John Porcari, and others under the Stadium Ave. bridge in Ann Arbor

Congressman John Dingell's office has announced that the federal government will chip in $13.9 million dollars to fix an aging Ann Arbor bridge.

The four lane bridge on Stadium Avenue, which runs past the "Big House," has been down to two lanes because it's so dilapidated.

The city was denied funds by the federal government last February under the TIGER program (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery).

But a second TIGER program found some money for the bridge.  The $13.9 million will come from a TIGER II grant. These grants are discretionary and are "awarded on a competitive basis for projects that will have a significant impact on the Nation, a metropolitan area or a region," according to the federal register announcement.

Dingell's office issued a statement saying:

"The Ann Arbor Bridges project serve as an example of how critical infrastructure projects are to economic development in Southeast Michigan. Michigan cannot continue to attract new business development without making our communities safe and accessible to future employers..."

Mark Brush was the station's Digital Media Director. He succumbed to a year-long battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, in March 2018. He was 49 years old.