Saginaw St Bridge over I-69 in Flint Closed Until Early November

Getting into downtown Flint is about to get a little more difficult with the closure of the Saginaw St bridge over I-69.

The downtown Flint area has been surrounded by construction this year, but this will be the first time that the main road in and out of Flint is closed. MDot has been working on completely redoing the entrance and exit ramps for 69 and 475 this summer. It's been a long process, but by the looks of it when I drive by, it looks like they are almost done.

This new closure is part of the bridge integrity initiative that started this year. That's the same group of projects that have US-23 so backed up as you head toward Fenton.

Get our free mobile app

The work is supposed to be wrapped up on November 4th, but we all know that could easily change. Fall in Michigan is probably one of the most unpredictable times of year, and weather could impact the actual completion of the project.

This is part of a huge I-69 improvement project that Mdot has been working on. The suggested detours are listed below.

• Southbound Saginaw Street traffic will be detoured through 7th Street, Grand Traverse Street and 12th Street.
• Northbound Saginaw Street traffic will be detoured via 12th Street, Grand Traverse Street, and 5th Street.

No question that this will make the headache of getting in and out of Downtown a little bigger, but the end result will be worth it. I'm not sure if I actually believe that, but it's what I have to keep telling myself as I drive through the construction near 69 and 475.