New Silver Bell Bridge Near GM Plant Opens to Traffic

The Road Commission for Oakland County held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday morning, officially opening the new Silver Bell Road bridge over the Grand Trunk Western Railroad tracks in Orion Township.

The old, badly deteriorated bridge was closed on Feb. 9 and demolished; the road had remained closed during the $4 million bridge replacement project, which began Feb. 28 and was completed by Dan’s Excavating of Shelby Township.

“The new bridge was constructed on time and within budget,” RCOC Chairman Eric Wilson said. “We are very pleased that we were able to get this project completed prior to the resumption of production at the GM plant. That will help to ensure the return of jobs to the plant and that GM is able to deliver parts to the facility in a timely manner.”

Located between Lapeer and Giddings roads in Orion Township, the bridge serves the main truck route for the General Motors Orion Township plant, which is scheduled to resume producing cars in the near future.

“We recognize that good roads and bridges are vital to the economy of Oakland County,” RCOC Board Member Ron Fowkes said. “Without this bridge, GM’s trucks would have had to travel miles out of the way, which would have been both costly and disruptive to their operations.”

$2.6 million of the bridge's funding came from a Michigan Transportation Economic Development Fund grant intended to support transportation projects that help to attract or retain jobs. The remaining $1.4 million of the cost was split evenly by RCOC and the Grand Trunk Western Railroad.

The new bridge includes four lanes – two in each direction – as well as improvements to the bridge approaches and to drainage in the immediate vicinity.

(Source: Road Commission for Oakland County)