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		SPECIAL REPORT TRANSPORTATIONPROJECT:CLOSE-UP
			Bridge Project South of Traverse City, First Link in 30-Mile Bypass, Is A Road to More Traffic
				On the day last year that the Convention and Visitors Bureau unveiled a new promotion for Traverse City as "A World Apart," the Grand Traverse County Road Commission was readying one more study to defend a proposed $22.5 million bridge and five-lane road project that many residents say is sure to make the region just like everywhere else. The two conflicting events — one touting friendly small towns and green forests, the other supporting more cars and sprawling development — perfectly frame the deep divisions galvanizing a debate about the Traverse City area's future.
								The Road Commission's ownstudies show that even if theHartman-Hammond bridge andconnector roads are built, it would be inundated in a decadeor so with nearly 30,000 cars aday. Traffic on South AirportRoad, which it is supposed torelieve, will remain as heavy asit is now.
					Voters Already Rejected Bypass Proponents say the Hartman-Hammond road and bridge project, which would cross just north of a wild and scenic stretch of the Boardman River, will help solve traffic congestion. "Our population is growing fast," said Michael Dillenbeck, manager of the Grand Traverse County Road Commission. "The existing road system is not adequate for the growth we've had, or that is projected in the next 20 years." Internal Road Commission documents identify the bridge project as a key link in the 30-mile, $300 million bypass under study by the agency and the Michigan Department of Transportation. Community advocates say both projects would waste taxpayer dollars, damage the environment, and encourage a proliferation of subdivisions and strip malls, thereby making traffic worse. In fact, the Road Commission's own study of the bridge project, released in May, predicts little or no congestion relief on the region's busiest roads. It also forecasts immediate traffic problems on the new road and bridge, which would be inundated in a decade or so with nearly 30,000 cars a day.
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