Connecting the Creek: Paint Creek Trail Awaits Replacement Bridge
Posted on January 7, 2026
Sometimes, a fresh coat of paint is not enough to maintain an old bridge. And when it’s time to commission a replacement, that’s when engineers get to work.
Anderson, Eckstein & Westrick, Inc., (AEW) has been working with the City of Rochester to replace a deteriorating 12-foot by 43-foot wooden railroad trestle bridge that spanned Paint Creek along the Paint Creek Trail at trail mile marker 31.7, north of Ludlow Avenue in Rochester.
The Paint Creek Trailways Commission (PCTC) oversees the trail’s management. The estimated 8-foot-wide, 8.9-mile-long trail was established in 1983 after the Penn Central Railroad had been converted into a nonmotorized trail. The trail winds through Rochester, Rochester Hills, Oakland Township, Orion Township, and Lake Orion.
Ingrid Kliffel, manager of the Paint Creek Trail, said a structural inspection of the nearly 100-year-old railway bridge “documented extensive decay of its structural components, compromising the safety of the bridge and necessitating its replacement.”
She said the awaited replacement — a single-span, prefabricated steel truss bridge about 14 feet wide by 70 feet long — will improve accessibility for trail users as well as emergency and maintenance vehicles. She also mentioned the potential environmental benefits.
“Additionally, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources recognizes the Paint Creek as a high-quality cold water stream, and it is home to a brown trout population,” Kliffel said.
“Replacing Bridge 31.7 with a bridge that has a clear span will eliminate the problem of logjams that currently occur, and will benefit fish passage and natural sediment and flow regimes.”
The total cost of the Bridge 31.7 replacement project — including engineering design, construction engineering, and bridge installation — is estimated at $1.4 million. Working together, the City of Rochester and the Paint Creek Trailways Commission were successful in obtaining a substantial amount of this funding through generous grants received from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, the Transportation Alternatives Program, the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, and Oakland County.
After getting the proper permitting, the old bridge’s removal and other construction work started in September 2025 to meet environmental deadlines from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. The agency restricts work from October through April to protect wildlife activity, such as spawning, in the creek.
AEW led design engineering efforts, including topographic survey, hydraulic analysis, environmental clearances, state and local permitting, and grant administration assistance. AEW prepared engineering drawings for bidding through the MDOT Local Agency Program and is currently providing construction engineering services throughout the construction phase.
Plans are to have the new bridge installed and the Paint Creek Trail reopened by late spring 2026. Once this project is finished, the City of Rochester will have a sturdy new bridge that pedestrians and cyclists can use for nonmotorized travel or recreation.
Learn more about the Paint Creek Trail by visiting paintcreektrail.org.