Main Street Bridge opens!

The new bridge, free of barriers and open to traffic - Friday, May 6, 2016 just after 9am.

The much-anticipated opening of Manchester's Main Street Bridge finally happened on Friday morning, May 6, shortly after 9 am.

A previously publicized opening ceremony was cancelled due to rain, which had caused the bridge painting to be a few days behind its original schedule. But painting and pavement markings were completed on Thursday, making way for the bridge to open a couple of days later.

A formal bridge opening ceremony will be held this Sunday, May 15, at 4pm, at the conclusion of the 50th Annual Canoe Race. Light refreshments will be served.

Some facts about the newly completed Main Street Bridge:

• The bridge structure is made from 862 tons of concrete
• The bridge span is 135 feet
• It includes 76 micro piles (38 on each side), at an average of about 70 feet depth. This supports the pad on which the beams rest.
• There is 46,534 square feet of epoxy costed reinforcement steel  (re-rod) supporting the bridge.
• A total of 270 feet of concrete railing
• Approximately 500 feet of two-inch electrical conduit (for electrical service to the bridge)
• The bridge is totally independent of the dam for the first time.

Village manager Jeff Wallace, with help from the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Deputy, removed the barriers.

First civilian vehicle to drive across the new 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.