Boaters and other Lake St. Clair enthusiasts may want to find an alternative to the boat launch facility at the end of South River Road in Harrison Township this summer due to increased traffic congestion likely created by a bridge project.
Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel, Roads Department Director Bryan Santo and other officials converged at the site of the bridge project Thursday to caution boat-towing motorists and others about visiting the Harley Ensign Memorial Boat Access facility at the end of South River Road on Lake St. Clair, and to tout the roads department’s progress in improving county bridges.
“We want people to realize this is going to be a challenge for them this summer season,” Hackel said. “We know a lot of boaters will be coming from across not just Macomb County but even the west side. They like to access Lake St. Clair through Macomb County. This is one of those areas that gets a lot of attention.
“We want to caution people. This is one you probably want to avoid if you can. The (traffic) backups are going to be incredible. … If you’re looking to get out to that launch site, I have a feeling you’re going to see a long line out here at South River Road. We’re trying to get you to avoid that.”
The more than 80-year-old bridge, which is over a short channel through a peninsula, is located less than a half mile west of the boat launch at a site that also includes the Sheriff’s Office Marine Division and a state Department of Natural Resources research office. It may be the busiest boat launch in the county.
The bridge will be replaced this year at a cost of $2.75 million because it is falling apart, Santo said. To provide access to the area east of the bridge during construction, the contractor is building a temporary one-lane bridge, officials said. To accommodate traffic going both ways, temporary signal lights have been installed so vehicles rotate driving over the temporary structure.
The existing bridge is such bad shape that the traffic already was reduced to one lane about five years to reduce the weight on the structure.
While that already can create a bottleneck, officials believe it will be worse this year due to the intermittent traffic flow and fact that vehicles towing trailers will have to slow down to navigate the temporary structure.
The temporary bridge should be complete in mid-April, and the new bridge installed by the end of August, officials said.
Hackel suggested boaters use other boat launches at “many other access sites throughout the county.” Other launches that are in Harrison Township include Lake St. Clair Metropark at Jefferson Avenue and Metropolitan Parkway, a DNR site at 36080 Jefferson Ave. near the Clinton River and the Selfridge Public Boat Launch at 29028 Rosso Hwy. (M-19). Another nearby ramp is at the Brandenburg Park Boat Launch at 50050 Jefferson Avenue in Chesterfield Township.
The city of St. Clair Shores boat ramp at Jefferson Avenue and 9 Mile Road, behind the Chapaton Pumping Station, has been closed since August 2023 due to a ongoing rehabilitation-and-expansion project, and is slated to reopen around Aug. 1, depending on weather.
Other ramps are available in St. Clair County and Detroit.
The South River Road project is one of 10 bridge or culvert projects, 25 road projects and six trail projects will be completed by county roads this year at a cost of $73 million, plus $10 million for associated technology upgrades, Hackel said.
Road officials said they have made significant progress in improving the 225 bridges under the county’s jurisdiction, increasing the proportion of bridges classified as in good or fair condition from 85% in 2019 to 89% last year, and dropping the percentage of those in poor condition from 8% to 6% over a five-year period and percenage of those in serious or critical shape from 7% to 5% from 2019 to 2024.
“We are committed to improving Macomb County’s bridge system through a sustainable balance of preventive maintenance, rehabilitation and replacement projects to strengthen our bridge infrastructure,” Santo said in a news release. “We’ve made critical investments in Macomb County’s bridge infrastructure while utilizing federal and state funding opportunities to enhance the conditions of our entire bridge network.”
While investing in bridge maintenance, repair and replacement is an additional cost in the short term, it can lead to significant long term cost savings, Santo said.
“The Department of Roads has systematically improved the condition of Macomb County’s bridges by utilizing available transportation funds and securing additional state and federal funding resources,” Hackel said in a release. “The Department of Roads has strategic programs in place that maximize the funding the agency receives and allocates resources based on data, conditions and community needs. There isn’t a bridge we can’t fix if we have adequate funding.”
Since 2019, MCDR has completed 38 bridge and culvert projects throughout the county, representing more than $38.7 million in local, state and federal bridge infrastructure investment.
Road officials seek to secure funding through the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Local Bridge program and previously gained funds for projects through MDOT’s Local Agency Bridge Bundle program.
Following are Macomb County bridge projects that are planned for 2025: 14 Mile Road over the Red Run Drain in Sterling Heights; 18 Mile Road over the Plumbrook Drain, Sterling Heights; 32 Mile Road over the Highbank Creek, Lenox and Richmond townships; 34 Mile Road over the Highbank, Richmond Township; Hayes Road over the Clinton River, Clinton Township and Sterling Heights; Utica Road over the Red Run Drain, Clinton Township; and Raap Road.
For a list of road projects and 2026 and ’27 bridge projects, visit macombgov.org/departments/department-roads.
