News · Traverse City
Traverse City-area road commission asks for $47 million in federal money to rebuild four Boardman River crossings
TRAVERSE CITY — The Grand Traverse County Road Commission has asked the federal government for about $47 million to replace four Boardman River crossings that ran into trouble during this spring’s flooding, a request its director admits is a long shot.
The application covers two crossings on Brown Bridge Road and one each on Supply Road and South Airport Road, road commission manager Dan Watkins told 9&10 News. The Record-Eagle put the request at $47.4 million.
The money would come from the Federal Highway Administration’s PROTECT program, which pays for roads and bridges built to stand up to severe weather and flooding. The current round offers up to $787 million nationwide. Applications closed Oct. 9.
Why these crossings
April’s flooding collapsed the Beitner Road bridge and nearly took out the South Airport Road and Brown Bridge Road crossings, The Ticker reported. South Airport, one of the region’s main east-west routes, was closed for about a week, “forcing 40,000 daily motorists to seek alternative routes with limited remaining options,” the application says. Watkins said the Beitner Road replacement should be finished in November.
Watkins said the decades-old “tube system” of culverts can no longer handle the Boardman, especially since dams on the river were removed. The grant would replace the culverts with bridges designed to span the river’s full bankfull width and handle a 100-year flood, according to the application. On South Airport, a designated evacuation route, the road would also be raised from the railroad tracks east of Cass Road to Park Drive to stop frequent flooding over the pavement, with room for kayaks underneath and non-motorized access.
County Administrator Nate Alger said South Airport and Beitner are the two main corridors in and out of Traverse City and Garfield Township. “If South Airport has the same experience, this community is in big trouble,” he told 9&10 News. He said a grant would ease the burden on taxpayers for a problem the county doesn’t control: “A river will run as long as the river will run.”
The local share
PROTECT resilience grants cover no more than 80% of a project’s cost. If the full amount is awarded, the road commission would owe a 20% match of roughly $9.5 million, The Ticker reported. Watkins said options range from bonding to spreading bridge replacements over several budgets.
Watkins compared the application to “buying a lottery ticket.” Even if it is denied, he said, the work produced designs for all four sites that can be used in future grant requests.
When to expect an answer
The timing is not settled in local reports. 9&10 News said the Federal Highway Administration expects to announce awards the week of Dec. 7, while The Ticker said a decision is expected by spring.
Some members of the South Airport Road steering committee, about 30 community stakeholders drafting a design for the crossing near Logan’s Landing, raised concerns about the grant during public comment. Watkins said the road commission is “not trying to go around the steering committee” and that the final design can include its ideas. The committee’s facilitator contract runs through the week of Dec. 21.
Sources:
9&10 News, “Grand Traverse County Road Commission seeks $47 million to rebuild Boardman River crossings,” Oct. 29, 2026 (crossings, Watkins and Alger quotes, PROTECT details, Dec. 7 timing, 80% cap, Beitner replacement), https://www.9and10news.com/2026/10/29/grand-traverse-county-road-commission-seeks-47-million-to-rebuild-boardman-river-crossings/
The Ticker, “Road Commission Eyes Ambitious Plan for Boardman Crossings,” Oct. 28, 2026 (application quotes, culverts, bridge design, South Airport raise, $9.5 million match, steering committee), https://www.traverseticker.com/news/road-commission-eyes-ambitious-plan-for-boardman-crossings/
Traverse City Record-Eagle, “GT County Road Commission: Officials seek $47.4M grant for crossing upgrades,” Oct. 30, 2026 (amount), https://www.record-eagle.com/news/local_news/gt-county-road-commission-officials-seek-47-4m-grant-for-crossing-upgrades/article_00a531cc-5f3a-4782-bcce-c81134b57264.html
Photo: Phoenix-Five, “BoardmanRiver.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BoardmanRiver.jpg
More from Traverse City
News · October 30, 2026
Traverse City airport luggage thefts: Cherry Capital Airport police arrest a Gaylord woman and say all of the stolen bags, worth over $10,000, were recovered
Travelers began reporting checked bags missing from baggage claim in August. The airport’s year-old police department says surveillance video and Flock license-plate cameras led to a suspect, who faces two felony counts.
News · October 29, 2026
Traverse City Central High’s $25.5 million rebuild: TCAPS shows its new-gym plan as residents fight to save the 1958 gym
The bond-funded project has grown from $20.2 million to $25.5 million, mostly for accessibility and a single secure entrance. Renovating the old gym was pegged at $19.6 million. The board still has to vote on final plans.
Michigan Travel · October 28, 2026
Patriot Farms near Traverse City: a veteran family’s new corn maze, hay mazes and Highland cows, open Thursday through Sunday this Halloween weekend
Army veteran Matthew Wheeler and his wife, Whitney, opened the farm Oct. 10 after nearly a decade of planning. Hours, prices, the veterans’ discount, what’s there and what they plan to add next.
News · October 22, 2026
Traverse City hiring event Nov. 6: Northwest Michigan Works brings employers to Garfield Avenue as the region’s tourist season jobs wind down
The free Fall into a New Job! event runs 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Networks Northwest Conference Center. Here is who is hiring, how to register and why the timing matters for northwest Michigan workers this fall.