Mid-Michigan drivers have been crossing over rusting, aging bridges for some time. One was so bad it actually had holes in the support beams.

That's why Ingham County officials shut it down. The Noble Road bridge over Doan Creek between Meech and Dietz roads is now closed until further notice. It's not the first unsafe bridge to close in recent months and it probably won't be the last.

Bill Conklin, Road Commission Managing Director: "The web of the beam has been corroded."

Another bridge in disrepair. Old, rusty, and Bill Conklin with the road commission says it's long overdue for an overhaul.

Bill Conklin: "This bridge really does need replacing."

But the road commission isn't fixing it, just shutting it down, and it's not the only one. The road commission shut down the Willoughby Road bridge last July. A bridge on Van Atta is in danger of closing soon. Stuck in this cycle because the county doesn't have enough money.

Bill Conklin: "We're in fact down to funding levels that we haven't seen since the late '90s."

There aren't any plans to repair or replace the Noble bridge.

Bill Conklin: "The main thing that we're waiting on is to get funding to fully replace it."

The county applied for federal funding to replace the bridge three years in a row.

Bill Conklin: "Bridges that have more traffic or more of strategic importance to the communities they serve are going to be ranked more highly in that process and are going to get funds before a bridge on a rural road such as this."

And if the money ever comes, it's no quick fix.
Bill Conklin: "If we were awarded funding for this bridge here in 2010, that funding would be for 2013."

In the meantime the bridge could remain shut down, causing an extended detour for residents and an overall headache for Conklin.

Bill Conklin: "It is frustrating not being able to maintain the roads and bridges."