A gaping pothole that damaged vehicles and snarled traffic on Interstate 75 at the Rouge River Bridge should be repaired in time for Tuesday morning rush hour.

As for the general condition of the bridge, which had similar problems in March and January, the Michigan Department of Transportation said it’s safe to drive.

But MDOT spokeswoman Diane Cross said the span needs major work, which it will receive in two years.

The 2017 project, which will cost $80 million, will involve rebuilding the driving surface and supporting deck.

Motorists said they would like to see the major work sooner rather than later. “It sounds like it’s falling apart,” said Toni Roberson of Detroit. “They need to fix it.”

The latest ailment struck Monday morning when a deep hole developed on the bridge between Dearborn and Springwells streets.

The crater, which formed in the right center lane of northbound I-75, caused a number of flat tires and caused traffic to back up more than a mile.

“It is a hole in the driving surface, and this one did go all the way through to the rebar and you can see light coming through it,” said Cross.

Earlier Monday, MDOT reported another pothole in an adjoining lane caused both lanes to be closed to traffic.

Concerns about the bridge’s safety were raised earlier this year when potholes opened up all the way through the roadway in January and March.

The Detroit News reported in April that the span was found to be “structurally deficit” by state and federal agencies because of its deteriorating deck structure.

The MDOT inspection rated the deck surface 4 out of possible 9, or “poor,” which indicates “advanced corrosion, deterioration, cracking or chipping,” according to an agency report.

MDOT officials said the agency’s last inspection, in May 2013, found the rest of the span in good shape.

The span’s superstructure, which supports the deck, and its substructure, which supports the superstructure and distributes loads to the below-ground bridge footings, both got ratings of 7, or “good.”

The 48-year-old span carries four lanes of traffic each way up to 100 feet over the Rouge and the nearby Marathon refinery.

The bridge is one of the region’s busiest, carrying 115,000 vehicles a day between Fort and Dearborn streets, according to MDOT traffic counts. Two other spans over the river, on Fort Street and Jefferson Avenue, are closed for repairs.

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