In 2001, when Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) officials in Lansing first started considering their options for the aging bridge at the famed intersection of Woodward Avenue and 8 Mile Road in Detroit, they didn't expect much of a controversy. In fact, according to MDOT officials, the task of rebuilding the eyesore was one of several projects that fell under a Categorical Exclusion-a status given to transportation projects that, due to very low anticipated impacts, don't get to have public hearings.

Now the project has joined a growing list of complicated and controversial road and bridge projects that are getting lots of attention statewide, and MDOT's seemingly simple project has turned into a lightening rod of contention for departmental policy reforms, including "Preserve First" and a new "Context Sensitive Design" program currently being advanced by MEC, the Michigan Land Use Leadership Council and Governor Granholm.

Conceived in the early 1950s, in recent years the bridge has become an eyesore for many, with a deteriorating deck, underside and piers. "To their credit, MDOT came to us two or three years ago and told us they were looking at rebuilding the bridge, and asked us for our input," said Ferndale City Manager Tom Barwin. "I put the question out to our staff and asked them to take a look. Our planning director came back and said basically, 'We agree the bridge should be repaired. But actually, we're not sure the bridge is really even needed anymore at all.'"

The bridge once carried more than 70,000 vehicles a day. According to MDOT, the daily count is now below 30,000. Barwin and other Ferndale officials began thinking of a different solution to the bridge question-demolition. They began talking to consulting firms, real estate agents, developers and citizens from the surrounding community, and a vision began to emerge of a Woodward and 8 Mile intersection without the bridge-for about the same price as rebuilding it.

Controversy escalated, and the project quickly came off the MDOT's Categorical Exclusion list. An Environmental Assessment was started. MDOT hosted a series of public meetings and heard concerns from a well-organized group of community residents who lived near the bridge, as well as from historic preservation interests and engineers concerned about traffic safety. Barwin talked to real estate representatives and developers who said that removing the bridge would improve property values within a half-mile of the intersection.

In early June, MDOT made its decision-it would pay to rebuild the bridge as it stands. It continued to take public comments on the project until the end of July, and the issue remains contentious today. MDOT claims that the decision follows the Governor's "Fix It First" directive and will embrace new Context Sensitive concepts like improved aesthetics and pedestrian features.

Barwin contends that a true CSD policy would have incorporated the public's interest in real alternatives, not just "whether the bridge is going to be pink or blue." He points to lost opportunities for future mass transit options, increased pedestrian safety and sense of community, and the need to remove the physical and symbolic barriers between city and suburb.

The question of what MDOT's final "Context Sensitive Design" program will look like remains open. Under a directive from Governor Granholm, the department has undertaken a process to engage stakeholders and formulate a policy to better incorporate social and environmental concerns into projects. But issues like the one at 8 Mile and Woodward have people like Barwin frustrated and skeptical.

"CSD is a good idea," says Barwin. "I'm happy that Lansing is talking the talk. But frankly we gave them a golden opportunity to consider real alternatives, and they blew it. If they're really going to do Context Sensitive Design, they have to get down to the quality of the input they receive. This state has practiced one mode-bigger and wider. This project held great potential for MDOT to look at something completely new. But in the end, the process was not what we expected."

MEC continues to work with MDOT to craft the Context Sensitive Design program and to ensure that it will effectively incorporate citizen interests and minimize negative impacts while meeting the needs of residents and the environment. For more information about MEC's work on Context Sensitive Design, please contact Brad Garmon at bradmec@voyager.net.