BRIDGEWAY DRIVE TO REOPEN

Homeowners on Coventry Drive have been waiting for significant updates regarding Bridgeway Drive, which has been closed at the covered bridge over Indian Creek since May 29, 2024. The closure was prompted by the Monroe County Road Commission (MCRC) engineers discovering multiple safety issues.

An inspection revealed that fifty percent of one of the support piers had been undermined and was sliding. Additionally, the wooden bridge structure was deemed unsafe, and the drain culvert running along the length of the road was found to be cracked.

Individually, these issues might not seem alarming; however, as Matt Snell explained to me, the combination of these problems presented too great a risk of injury to leave the bridge open. While a cracked culvert might not be seen as a serious danger if it is under a managed weight load of five percent, the weight of the wooden structure combined with road traffic raised the load to around fifteen percent, which is concerning.

Unlike the Crosscreeks subdivision, which has an existing homeowners association, Covered Bridge Estates does not have one. Therefore, the roads in this subdivision are classified as public streets. Typically, the responsibility for non-primary road repairs falls to the township. However, in Michigan, many townships pass the responsibility for fixing subdivision roads back to the homeowners through what is known as a Special Assessment District (SAD).

Many homeowners have reached out to the road commission, the drain commission, and the township office seeking answers about how to reopen the road and bridge after a proposed SAD petition failed. Unfortunately, most have encountered limited answers and frustratingly found themselves in a game of “pass the buck.”

I have spoken with Matt Snell from MCRC on several occasions, but numerous obstacles have remained in the way of reopening the road and bridge. The road commission would not reopen the road without the consent of Covered Bridge Estates homeowners to remove the wooden bridge cover or a plan from a licensed engineer that complied with current codes and standards, along with an approved maintenance contract with Bedford Township for future upkeep of any new structure.

On October 22, 2025, I received notification that the Monroe County Road Commission had released a proposal inviting bids for the removal of the Bridgeway Drive covered bridge structure. Bid submissions are due this week, on November 6, with the work expected to be completed on or before December 23, 2025.

I again spoke with Matt Snell at MCRC, who indicated that this action is being taken due to the lack of progress regarding either a new SAD petition or a contractor plan to rebuild the covered bridge. He mentioned that they had received numerous calls expressing concerns about safety while the road and bridge remain closed, which prompted the decision to proceed with removal.

At this time, no work will be done on the culvert beneath the road, as the removal of the bridge cover will place the managed weight load below the five percent requirement that MCRC deems safe. However, Tim Csurgo, Deputy Drain Commissioner for Monroe County, confirmed that a petition to dredge Indian Creek has been received and is scheduled for early 2027. At that time, efforts can be coordinated with the road commission to replace the culvert.

*Although Crosscreeks has a homeowners association, its streets are also public and are maintained similarly.