The Zilwaukee Bridge is a high-level, segmental concrete bridge

Bridge

A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...

 spanning the Saginaw River

Saginaw River

The Saginaw River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is formed by the confluence of the Tittabawassee and Shiawassee rivers southwest of Saginaw. It flows northward into the Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron just northeast of Bay City. The watershed area is .The river is an important shipping...

 in Zilwaukee, Michigan

Zilwaukee, Michigan

Zilwaukee is a city in Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,799 at the 2000 census. The 2009 Census Bureau estimate places the population at 1,640. The city is adjacent to and was created from Zilwaukee Township...

, approximately 5 mi (8 km) north of Saginaw, Michigan

Saginaw, Michigan

Saginaw is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw was once a thriving lumber town and manufacturing center. Saginaw and Saginaw County lie in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The current eight-lane structure, completed in 1988, is the second such bridge at this location, replacing a four-lane bascule bridge

Bascule bridge

A bascule bridge is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances the span, or "leaf," throughout the entire upward swing in providing clearance for boat traffic....

 constructed in 1960. The present structure was designed to relieve traffic congestion along the freeway crossing it, resulting from repeated openings of the draw span for lake freighter

Lake freighter

Lake freighters, or Lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that ply the Great Lakes. The best known was the , the most recent and largest major vessel to be wrecked on the Lakes. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. In the mid-20th century, 300 lakers worked the...

 traffic serving industrial sites along the river.