Bay City, Michigan, Bridges: History, Nicknames, Vehicle Traffic & More

Bay City, Michigan, is home to four bascule bridges, two of which are owned and operated by the state, and two that were recently sold off by the city to a private infrastructure firm.

Over the past few years, residents across the Great Lakes Bay Region have heard plenty about Bay City’s bridges, but may not fully understand which bridge is which, or which one is now a toll bridge.

Use this information to learn more about each bridge.

Veterans Memorial Bridge

• Aliases: Vets Bridge; Bridge to Downtown Bay City, One-way bridge
• Streets: East Thomas Street (eastbound) and East Jenny Street (westbound); and McKinley Avenue (eastbound) and Seventh Street (westbound).
• Year Built: 1957
• Total Length: 916 feet
• Owner: Michigan Department of Transportation
• Average Daily Vehicle Traffic: 20,000 vehicles
• Average Openings Per Year: 900+
• Toll: None

Lafayette Avenue Bridge

• Aliases: Salzburg Bridge, Double-Hump Bridge
• Streets: Salzburg Avenue (westside) and Lafayette Avenue (eastside)
• Year Built: 1938; extensively rehabilitated in 1987.
• Total Length: 746 feet.
• Owner: Michigan Department of Transportation
• Average Daily Vehicle Traffic: 18,000 vehicles
• Average Openings Per Year: 850+
• Toll: None

Liberty Bridge

• Aliases: Midland Street Bridge
• Streets: Woodside Avenue and East Vermont Street
• Year Built: 1986
• Total Length: 2,344 feet
• Owner: Bay City United Bridge Partners
• Average Daily Vehicle Traffic: 17,000
• Average Openings Per Year: 940
• Toll: $2 per crossing or $15/month unlimited; free for Bay City residents through 2027. 

Independence Bridge

• Aliases: Indy Bridge, “mall bridge”
• Streets: Harry S. Truman Parkway
• Year Built: 1973
• Total Length: 1,211 feet
• Owner: Bay City United Bridge Partners
• Average Daily Vehicle Traffic: 23,000
• Average Openings Per Year: 990
• Toll: Estimated $2 per crossing or $15/month unlimited; free for Bay City residents through 2027.

Past Bridges

• Cass Avenue Bridge: Constructed in 1890, the Cass Avenue Bridge connected Cass Avenue to the Middle Grounds and to the West Side. It was abandoned in the 1950s.
• Belinda Street Bridge: Built in 1893, the Belinda Street Bridge was the predecessor to Independence Bridge. It closed in 1976.
• Third Street Bridge: Connected Third Street in Downtown Bay City to Midland Street on the West Side. In 1976, the span of the bridge collapsed into the Saginaw River while opening, closing the bridge indefinitely. A previous iteration of the bridge, built in 1864, was built by a private company and charged a toll to cross it.