Bridge opening tentatively scheduled for first week of May

New Main Street Bridge nearing completion. Weather will play a role as to whether it opens the first week of May.

When is the Main Street’s bridge reopening? The best estimation based on all data available is that the bridge will open the first week of May. Village manager Jeff Wallace stressed that in order for the bridge to open that week, work will have to progress at the rate they expect it to. “All structural work will need to be completed including striping for the center line and parking spots … Obviously weather will play a role in this,” he stated. The decision when to open it will ultimately be made by everyone involved–including MDOT, engineers, and the bridge company.

The Village Council faces a difficult situation in planning a bridge opening celebration. The bridge has been closed for almost a year. The Village recognizes the monumental achievement of the reopening and wants to mark the occasion. However, they can’t plan a celebration without knowing the date it will open, and that date may change day to day as they get closer to the opening. Wallace explained, “Once the bridge is done we don’t want to leave it closed until a “ceremony” is in place. We want to get it opened as soon as it is ready … We want to celebrate, but need to be responsive to the public and not hold off once we can get [it] into service.”

This has led to the planning of a short ribbon-cutting and someone (who is still to be determined) ceremonially driving across the bridge first, although these plans are not finalized. A second, more formal celebration is being planned in conjunction with the Canoe Race on May 15th. Plans will be discussed again at the upcoming Village Council meeting on April 18th.

Wallace stated that even after the bridge is open, there will still be about a month of finish work that will need to be completed. This will include painting the rail, putting brick pavers in place, installing lights and more.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.