The Washtenaw County Road Commission announced today the Waters Road Bridge replacement project has been completed, and the road was officially REOPENED to the motoring public by 10:15 a.m. on Friday, December 21, 2007.
This short-span bridge over the Haas Drain is located on Waters Road, between Parker Road and Haab Road in Freedom Township. In 1999, after a routine inspection, the original structure maintained a "no posting" status. In 2005, after the inspection, the Waters Road short-span bridge was reduced from "no posting" to 10 tons. In 2007, the bridge was officially closed by the Road Commission on July 10, following a routine bridge inspection that revealed severe failure of the beams.
This bridge was one of seven short-span bridges and culverts in Washtenaw County that the Road Commission was forced to close immediately this summer at the recommendation of the bridge inspector hired by the Road Commission, Scott Civil Engineering of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Upon determining its severe deterioration, the inspector recommended that the Road Commission impose an immediate closure of the Waters Road Bridge for the safety of the traveling public.
After its closure, the old, failed bridge deck was removed by Road Commission Operations crews, and barricades were put in place until the new structure could be replaced. The replacement included the installation of a specially-treated timber deck fabricated by the Krenn Bridge Company, out of Vicksburg, Michigan, as well as scour protection for the eastern concrete bridge abutment, replacement of the southeasterly concrete wingwall, guardrails, signs, and construction of the road approaches to the bridge. This bridge replacement was paid for entirely by the Road Commission at an approximate cost of $65,000.
The next closed structures scheduled for replacement are the Harris Road Short-Span Bridge over Fowler Creek, located on a gravel road between Cherry Hill Road and Vreeland Road, in Superior Township, and the Liberty Road Short-Span Bridge over the Haas Drain, located between Steinbach Road and Dancer Road in Lima Township. These two short-span bridges will be replaced during the 2008 construction season.
For more information and continual updates on current bridge and culvert replacement projects, visit the Road Commission Bridge Activity webpage.
Contacts
If you have any questions concerning this or other bridge projects, 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.