ZEELAND, TOWNSHIP, MI (WHTC AM/FM) – After three months of work, the Ottawa County Road Commission says the Byron Road bridge in Zeeland Township has been reopened.
The project involved replacement of the superstructure, which included full removal and replacement of the bridge deck and supporting beams, as well as bridge approach work.
Prior to the improvements, the bridge had been load limited, which restricted the type of traffic that could go over this critical piece of infrastructure in Ottawa County.
The project was made possible by the state’s bridge bundling pilot project, funded by Federal Highway Improvement Program dollars. Michigan Department of Natural Resources bridge staff and consultants did the preliminary design and construction administration work for the bridge project.
The pilot program is only the first phase of the initiative. Roughly $196 million in federal COVID relief funds will allow the state to execute Phase II of the program beginning later this year to address 59 more bridges.
Phase II focuses on closed and load-posted bridges. Some will be permanently removed while others will be fully replaced.
The Ottawa County Road Commission will be a participant in the next round of this program.
The County Road Commission had the 32nd Avenue bridge over the North Branch of Crockery Creek in Chester Township selected for the next round of bridge bundling. The bridge is currently load restricted, and the bridge replacement project is estimated to cost $3.57 million.
The replacement project is tentatively scheduled to take place in 2023.
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