The Silver River Bridge on Highway M-26 is set to reopen with limited lane access before the end of the week.
The crossing is a well-used route between Eagle Harbor and Copper Harbor. Since April 22, 2023 when its retaining wall collapsed, a detour that adds 30 minutes of travel has been in place along US-41.
According to the Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) Superior Region Media Representative Dan Weingarten, the construction crew poured the bridge’s deck last week. With that element in place, crews are trying to make the bridge partially crossable by the end of this week.
“We hope that we can get the bridge open to one lane of traffic, with a temporary signal, by Friday or Saturday of this week,” said Weingarten. “That will allow us to remove the detour.”
However, Weingarten noted that depending on the testing of the bridge’s deck, the lane could open as late as July 7.
Initially, the project and detour were slated to begin on April 25th, but flooding moved up the start date.
“We started the complete closure and detour of M-26 after the failure of the retaining wall on the bridge on April 22nd,” added Weingarten. “So, a few days earlier than we had hoped.”
The new bridge is a roughly $2.9 million project, replacing the former, deteriorating structure. Davis Construction, Inc. is handling the new bridge’s creation.
According to Weingarten, the project is on track to be completed in late July.
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Source: TV6 News
