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By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor
PENTWATER TOWNSHIP — Bridge rehabilitation work on Longbridge Road is set to begin Monday, June 8, and continue through Aug. 6, according to the Oceana County Road Commission.
The project includes “removal and reinstallation of steel grid deck, replacement of beam splice plates, replacement of bearing beams, installation of steel bracing, and steel cleaning and coating on Longbridge Road pedestrian structures over Pentwater River.”
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Longbridge Road, which crosses Pentwater Lake at the Pentwater River outlet, is a popular fishing spot.
The road will be closed down to one lane during construction. There will not be a detour, said OCRC Managing Director Mark Timmer. “Traffic will be controlled by temporary signals with traffic to remain open,” said Timmer.
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“This project is a collaboration between Pentwater Township, the Oceana County Road Commission, and WMSRDC (West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission) and is made possible by a Great Lake Fisheries Trust grant for $250,000. Pentwater Township and the road commission approved contributing $53,000 each for a total of $106,000 as matching funds towards the total project cost, which is estimated to be $356,000 including engineering, inspection and traffic control.”
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“The Great Lakes Fishery Trust is an innovative funding source created to compensate the residents of Michigan for the lost use and enjoyment of fisheries resources of Lake Michigan resulting from the operation of the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant,” states the organization’s website.
The OCRC board unanimously approved the contractor bid of $343,814.97 to Michigan Bridge Construction at its May 13 meeting.
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“Beams and bearing plates were rusty where they hit the concrete from exposure to the moisture and water,” said Timmer of the 40-year-old bridge. “We’re re-doing those things instead of tearing the whole thing apart.”
“We had to do it now because of the grant timing. We couldn’t do it in the fall. That’s the fastest timeline we could do to make this project work, and we had to do it in those time constraints. We would have preferred to work on it in the fall, but we couldn’t due to the grant timing.”
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The pedestrian platforms connected to the bridge are being upgraded, said OCRC County Highway Engineer Cole Shafer. The large landing with benches is not included in the project.
The road was closed for seven months in 2019 due to record high water levels, and local residents had to drive a 14-mile detour around it. The road commission received permission from Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) to raise the road higher. Hallack Contracting, which was contracted by the road commission, completed the work in November of that year.
OCRC photo
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