Toll Bridge Facts.com

Welcome to Toll Bridge Facts.com!

The Toll Bridge Facts.com web site (blog) is an initiative of the Grosse Ile Bridge Company (GIBC) to directly provide Island residents, businesses and visitors with important information concerning the Grosse Ile Toll Bridge.  This web site is integrated into the GIBC's main web site which can be viewed at www.GrosseIleBridge.com.

Toll Bridge Facts.com enables the GIBC to keep you better informed about breaking news and developments concerning the bridge. The site also provides residents and customers with an interactive capability that features answers to frequently asked questions and a forum for posting opinions.  We especially encourage you to sign up for the GIBC's e-newsletter "The Connection" that provides important traffic advisories as well as the most accurate and timely information about the Toll Bridge.

If you want the latest updates on traffic conditions, please sign up to follow the GIBC's messages ("tweets") on Twitter.

GIBCTRAFFIC ADVISORIES: 

View the GIBC's Facebook page (www.facebook.com/pages/Grosse-Ile-Toll-Bridge/93093238163) and Twitter page (http://twitter.com/GIBridge) for the latest information about current traffic conditions and short-term closures of the Toll Bridge due to maintenance, lake freighters or other reasons.  Currently, no long-term closures of the Toll Bridge are planned. 

To view a summary of the GIBC's regular load limits and restrictions on the Toll Bridge, please CLICK HERE.

Web Cam

View the GIBC's web cam on Bridge Rd. at the toll plaza by CLICKING HERE.

To view the most current picture of traffic at the toll plaza, please use the "Refresh" function on your web browser to obtain a new picture from the web cam.  Pressing the "F5" key on the keyboard is a shortcut for refreshing an Internet Explorer web browser.   A new picture of traffic is generated at one minute intervals.

** Please be sure to sign up for the GIBC's "The Connection" e-newsletter and traffic advisories by CLICKING HERE.

ROUND-TRIP TOLL FARES IN EFFECT DURING 24+ HOUR (NOT PARTIAL DAY) COUNTY BRIDGE CLOSURE PERIODS FOR EASTBOUND TRAFFIC (NO TOLL FARE WILL BE COLLECTED FROM WESTBOUND TRAFFIC)

To print this schedule, please click on the image to enlarge and then use the right button of the mouse to print the file as a picture. To download and print the schedule as a PDF file, please CLICK HERE.

Tokens and Bridge Pass are Sold at the Toll Booth and Trailer in the Toll Plaza

The First Step for Buying a Bridge Pass:  Fill Out the Bridge Pass Application

Save Time and Money!

It's easy to buy a Bridge Pass. Simply download the Bridge Pass application, fill in the requested information and mail application with appropriate payment to the Grosse Ile Bridge Company or drop off at the toll booth or trailer at toll plaza. Please note that the application's file size is large (1.8m), so please be patient to download this file if you have a dial-up Internet connection.

To download the application, click on the following PDF file: GIBC Bridge Pass Application

Frequently Asked Questions

For answers to frequently asked questions, click here.

Bridge Pass Tag Installation Instructions

You will receive instructions on how to properly mount the Bridge Pass Tag on your vehicle's windshield with your Bridge Pass. If you would like to download and view the instructions, click on the following PDF file:  Download Bridge Pass Tag installation.

Vehicles that Require Special Mounting Instructions or Special Bridge Pass Tags

While the regular Bridge Pass Tag works on almost all American and foreign-made vehicles, there are a number of vehicles made during certain years that require a special type of Bridge Pass Tag or special mounting instructions to work correctly.

The vehicles listed on the following PDF file are equipped with special windshields that contain metal in the glass that prevents the Bridge Pass Tag from being read properly by the sensors in the toll plaza:  Download bridge_pass_special_vehicles_list.

If you are unsure about whether your vehicle has one of these windshields, consult your owners manual or contact the dealer where you purchased your car. This vehicle list may change. If you have any questions about how the Bridge Pass will work on your vehicle, please call the Grosse Ile Bridge Company at (734) 282-2914.

 

Bridge Pass Refund Forms

 

Please download the Bridge Pass Refund Form by CLICKING HERE, fill it out and make a copy for your records. 

Completed forms, along with the Bridge Pass Tag, may be dropped off at the GIBC’s office at the toll booth in the toll plaza or the trailer in the toll plaza.  Customers may also mail the completed form with the Bridge Pass Tag to:

Grosse Ile Bridge Company
P.O. Box 24
Grosse Ile, MI 48138 

A refund check will be mailed to the account holder's address within 15 business days depending on demand.

 

Overview of the GIBC's Landscaping Plan on the GIBC's Property Along Bridge Road and Meridian

*  Including the optional plantings, the plan recommends the planting of a total of 88 trees, 141 shrubs and 82 flowers.

*  The plan includes 13 species of trees, 6 species of shrubs and 6 species of flowers.

To view the site plan for the GIBC's landscaping that was submitted on November 7th to Grosse Ile Township for review, please CLICK HERE.

List of Trees, Shrubs and Flowers in the GIBC's Landscaping Plan
As of November 10, 2007

Trees

Dogwood
Dwarf Lilac 
Flowering Crab 
Locust
Norway Spruce
October Glory Red Maple
Red Bud
Red Oak
River's Birch
Sargent Crab
Spruce 
Sweet Gum
White Pine

Shrubs

Amelanchier
Burning Bush
Quince
Sea Green Juniper
Spirea
Viburnum

Flowers

Blackeyed Susan
Daylily
Hydrangea
Knockout Rose
Tulips
Wild flowers

GIBC Pier Protection Enhancement Project is Successful

Four Day Project on One Pier Costs GIBC More Than $40,000

The GIBC obtained permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to add rip-rap and other protective materials near the bottom of one of the piers in the middle of the Toll Bridge. The MDEQ directed GIBC to delay this work until mid-August which is the end of the nesting season for Common Terns (a threatened species of birds that nest on the Toll Bridge's north and south protection piers).

GIBC's contractor expects to complete the rip-rap project by August 31.  Vehicle traffic flow across the Toll Bridge and marine vessels passing through the span have not been affected by this project.

Over the years the GIBC has spent significant amounts of money to maintain and enhance the protection for the piers which are critically important to the structural integrity of all bridges.  The Toll Bridge's piers are regularly inspected -- top to bottom underwater observation (video recorded) and testing of the piers by helmeted divers are key components of the GIBC's inspection process.   

The Toll Bridge's piers are armor reinforced with steel plates from the river bed to above the water line.  The piers are extremely stable and strong as they were built into the bedrock in the river bottom.

The four day pier protection enhancement project completed by a Michigan-based contractor cost the GIBC more than $40,000.  The GIBC pays 100% of the cost to maintain and operate the Toll Bridge with the user fee toll fare.  No taxpayers' funds have ever been used to maintain or operate the Toll Bridge.  The GIBC pays $58,000 a year in taxes to Grosse Ile Township and also annually pays the same amount of taxes to the City of Riverview.

Since GIBC President and Owner Paul Smoke took charge of the company in 1982, the company has invested over $10 million on maintaining and improving the Toll Bridge. GIBC's long-term capital improvement plan is designed to ensure that the life of the Toll Bridge is virtually unlimited.

Example of a GIBC Receipt for all Transactions Other Than the Bridge Pass Service

Download bridge_pass_refund_form.pdf

Bridge Pass Refund Form

Please download the Bridge Pass Refund Form by CLICKING HERE, fill it out and make a copy for your records. 

Completed forms, along with the Bridge Pass Tag, may be dropped off at the GIBC’s office at 8734 Macomb Street, the toll booth in the toll plaza or the trailer in the toll plaza.  Customers may also mail the completed form with the Bridge Pass Tag to:

Grosse Ile Bridge Company
P.O. Box 24
Grosse Ile, MI 48138 

A refund check will be mailed to the account holder's address within 15 business days depending on demand.