Main Street Bridge to be Replaced in 2016, Dam's Future in Question

Main Street Bridge remains partially closed while the village prepares to replace it.

When Village Manager Jeff Wallace received notification last week that the Main Street Bridge was selected for state and federal grant funding to replace the entire structure, he was ready to jump into action.

When Village Manager Jeff Wallace received notification last week that the Main Street Bridge was selected for state and federal grant funding to replace the entire structure, he was ready to jump into action.

After all, it was not a sudden decision on the part of the village or the state. This was the third consecutive year that the Village of Manchester had applied for critical funding to replace the decaying 85-year-old bridge spanning the River Raisin in the heart of downtown. Earlier this year, with inspections showing state of the bridge was rapidly deteriorating, weight limits were reduced and the difficult decision was made to eliminate parking and close the two northern lanes on the bridge.

Wallace and village president Pat Vailliencourt contacted local legislators, attended numerous state meetings where bridge funding was discussed, and pled the case wherever possible, explaining over and over the challenges presented by having the community’s major thoroughfare cut in half. Their persistence finally paid off when the official notice arrived at Village Hall on November 8: The village had received a grant of $2.97 million for complete replacement of “Structure #11084, Main Street (Bridge) over River Raisin.”

This grant is anticipated to cover 95 percent of the construction costs. “Soft costs” such as design engineering are not included in the grant, and must come from local resources. With foresight, the village administration has been planning for this eventuality for the past two or three years and has been shoring up the Street Fund, which now has about $180,000 in it, for this purpose. In addition to the construction engineering costs, which are budgeted at $300,000, the village is required to cover the 5 percent of construction costs not covered by the grant funding.

“When applying for a grant, one of the most important things we need to do is project all the future costs, to make sure we can afford the project in the long run,” Wallace said last week. “Even though we have been saving for this eventuality, we will probably have to sell a bond to cover our portion of the costs. Once we get the numbers (from the engineering firm), I’ll talk to the bond attorney and our financial advisors to see how we should proceed.”

A bond may or may not require voter approval, he added. Once he has consulted with attorneys and financial advisors, the next steps will become clearer.

The village funds are adequate to begin the design engineering phase immediately, and they are eager to get started on this major downtown project. The village chose URS, a Grand Rapids-based firm, as the village’s bridge engineers in 2011 when the first grant application was submitted. URS will have representatives at the November 18 Village Council meeting to discuss how to proceed.

“We first partnered with URS after an interview process before the 2011 grant application was due,” Wallace explained. “We will rely on their expertise to help us make some decisions about where we take this project. Let’s face it; they do a lot more bridges than we do.”

One of the major decisions that will need to be made involves the future of the dam at the Main Street Mill Pond. Currently, the dam is privately owned and the village has no jurisdiction over it. However, not only does the bridge foundation rest on the dam, but with the River Raisin (recreational) waterfront development project also on the horizon, this appears to be the time to make a decision about the future of the dam. Removing the dam would significantly affect the look of the riverfront in the downtown area.

“The bridge grant is based on a new bridge that will be independent from the dam, which is not the case now,” Wallace said. “If the village and the dam owner decided to have the dam removed, there could be a state grant available to make this happen.”

The future of the iconic dam is uncertain.

If the dam is removed, the community would lose the mill pond, one of the most picturesque aspects of downtown Manchester. In addition, the costs associated with this project could add up to another $200,000. Grants may be available to help with the costs of dam removal. The Village Council has much to consider as they make plans to move forward with the Main Street bridge project.

URS definitely has the experience necessary to incorporate a potential dam removal project into the Main Street bridge construction, as the company engineered the dam and bridge project in Dexter a few years ago. This, in combination with their attention to aesthetics, is why they were selected by the Council’s bridge committee for this project.

URS recommends a complete bridge closure during the construction phase of the project, in order to expedite its completion. Regardless of Council’s decision regarding the dam, a new bridge will be designed with an independent foundation, so that any future planning will not need to take the existence of the dam into account.

Wallace indicated that if all goes according to plan, the village will try to be ready for construction commencement in January 2015.

“We don’t know if that can happen, but we want to proceed with this as our ‘stretch’ goal,” he said. “If that is not attained, we would settle for the grant’s original timeline of 2016.”

At this point, the bridge’s north lanes will be closed for at least two more years, possibly three. For now, Manchester seems to have acclimated itself to the inconvenience of the closure. There are bound to be a few speed bumps along the way, but Manchester’s downtown district will eventually see the light at the end of the bridge.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.