On
Friday, September 28, 2007, at 2:00 p.m., the Washtenaw County
Board of Road Commissioners held a brief
“Ribbon-Cutting/Reopening Ceremony” to commemorate the
completion of the Parker Road Bridge
replacement project. The ceremony was held on the new bridge,
located between I-94 and Gross Road on the border of Lima and Scio
Townships. The new Parker Road Bridge was officially reopened to
the public immediately following the ceremony.
Those attending the informal dedication from the Washtenaw County Road Commission included Commissioner Wesley Prater (Chair); Commissioner Fred Veigel (Vice-Chair); Steve Puuri, Managing Director; Kelly Jones, Bridge Engineer and Project Manager, Chet Brzys, Construction Technician on the project; Lori Beyer, Survey Supervisor; Frank Del Vecchio, Right-of-Way Supervisor; Alan Gorris, Design Technician; Bruce Soulby, Office Technician; and Carrie Ryan, Administrative Assistant.
Managing Director Puuri provided a brief statement about the project, and thanked the Board, Road Commission staff and local officials for their contributions and support to ensure the project’s success. Puuri also acknowledged area residents and the general public for their patience throughout the duration of this bridge replacement.
“We particularly appreciate the patience and cooperation of all the area residents on this project, and are confident they will find the long-term benefits of this newly constructed bridge to outweigh any short-term inconveniences they may have experienced,” stated Puuri.
The ceremony was also joined by local dignitaries, Mark Ouimet, Washtenaw County Commissioner; Ken Unterbrink, Lima Township Supervisor; Arlene Bareis, Lima Township Clerk; Nanette Havens, Lima Township Treasurer; Charlie Nielsen, Scio Township Supervisor; and Darrell Fecho, Scio Township Manager. Area residents included Barbara Prater, Doug Fuller, Dorothy Leverett, Kris Downie, Bob Breuninger, El Wier, and David Read. Contractor representatives from E. T. McKenzie were Eric Evans and Chuck Argersinger; other companies were represented by Ryan Henderson with Orchard, Hiltz & McCliment, Inc., and Tom Jett with AT&T.
The Parker Road Bridge over Mill Creek has been closed since April 28, 2006, due to severe deterioration and structural failure of several beam ends and stringers. The closure was imposed by the Road Commission following a routine bridge inspection conducted by the Scott Civil Engineering Company; the bridge inspector recommended immediate closure for the safety of the motoring public.
In June of 2007, the Road Commission began demolition of the old bridge, which held a 10-ton weight limit restriction at the time of its closure. The old bridge was built in 1936; it had a deck width of 27.2 feet and spanned 61-feet in length. The newly constructed bridge is a precast concrete I-beam bridge, with concrete abutments, a clear roadway width of 40-ft and a span length of 75-ft. The new bridge can carry all legal highway loads. This project also included significant road profile improvements and restoration work.
Funding for the Parker Road Bridge replacement was obtained through the Local Bridge Program, administered through the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), for the 2009 construction season. The East Delhi Road Bridge (closed in June 2005) and the Plymouth Road Bridge (open to traffic, but in poor condition), were both originally awarded funding by the MDOT for the 2007 construction season. Due to the unexpected closure of the Parker Road Bridge and to the heavy traffic volumes using this road, the MDOT permitted the Road Commission to swap both the East Delhi Road Bridge and the Plymouth Road Bridge to the 2009 construction season so that Parker Road Bridge could be constructed in 2007.
“Plans are underway to rehabilitate the historically-eligible truss bridge on East Delhi Road during the summer of 2008 and to replace the Plymouth Road Bridge during the summer of 2009,” reported Kelly Jones, Bridge Engineer for the Road Commission.
In addition to the bridge replacement, the Road Commission allocated an additional, estimated $75,000, to make needed improvements to the intersection of Parker Road at Jackson Road in Scio Township. Brent Schlack, Traffic & Safety Supervisor and project manager on this portion of the project, oversaw the completion of these improvements, which included adding curb and gutter to the intersection and widening Jackson Road with a left-turn lane for eastbound/westbound traffic, and a northbound right-turn lane on Parker Road.
“These intersection improvements should greatly help in reducing crashes involving motorists making left-turn movements off Jackson Road, as well as improve the overall function of this intersection,” Schlack explained.
The intersection work, performed by Road Commission Operations crews, coincided with the bridge replacement and took approximately five weeks to complete.
Contacts
If you have any questions concerning this project, please contact Kelly Jones, Bridge Engineer, at (734) 327-6647, or via email at jonesk@wcroads.org.
If you require assistance with media information, please contact Val Cooper, Public Information Officer, at (734) 327-6675 or via email at: cooperv@wcroads.org.