The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Bridge project to begin next month
By Jim Carson, Guest Writer
PUBLISHED: February 14, 2008
As Washtenaw County Road Commission and Village of Dexter staff continue working on final plans for the Main Street Bridge replacement with dam removal/stream restoration; some area residents have asked about the status of a new railroad viaduct and pedestrian connector which was being planned west of the bridge.
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Dam removal and the Main Street Bridge replacement is on schedule to begin in March barring any unforeseen issues arising in the next month.
WCRC and village staff are completing arrangements on an almost daily basis, since the start of the year, to keep this long-anticipated project to its March 2008 start date.
The WCRC is responsible for the dam removal and the new bridge construction.
The village accepted the responsibility of the stream restoration/sediment removal, because State of Michigan Critical Bridge Replacement Funding could not be used for that part of the project.
A second phase to the Main Bridge Project was being planned to include a new three-lane railroad viaduct with a road re-alignment from the new bridge to the viaduct.
The existing viaduct was to stay in place to provide safe pedestrian access to and from the west side of the village.
The village expended a significant amount of effort to convince the Road Commission that a new, wider viaduct would help alleviate the approximately 18,000-car bottleneck traveling through that part of the village each day.
The village also assisted the Road Commission in securing the appropriate funding for the completion of the Phase II project.
Construction of Phase II was forecast to take place in March 2011. At the end of September the state dropped a big bomb on the project when it ruled that Critical Bridge Replacement Funding could not be used to fund railroad viaduct construction.
The WCRC and the village had been told several times throughout the planning stage of Phase II that any excess bridge money could be used for the new viaduct construction.
To say the least, the Village Council and staff were extremely upset with the state ruling to exclude funding for the project.
Satisfied that the dam removal and new bridge construction is on schedule to commence soon, Dexter Village Council is once again committed to help the Road Commission secure the estimated $8 million needed for the Phase II project.
Approximately $2 million of commitments can be carried over from the past funding effort.
Village council sees the 18,000 vehicles going through the viaduct as a regional issue and plans to seek support from surrounding townships as well as the WCRC.
The $2 million funding carryover is a result of past commitments from Scio Township, the village of Dexter and federal Surface Transportation Program Urban funds.
Village officials plan to begin the appeal for regional cooperation at an upcoming planning group meeting Feb. 18 at Dexter Township.
The regional planning group known as CAPT/DART meets on the third Monday of each month and its members include representatives from the Dexter, Chelsea, the townships of Dexter, Webster, Scio, Lima, Sylvan and Lyndon; as well as WCRC, Washtenaw Area Transportation Study and Washtenaw County Planning and Environment Department.
The plan for now is to make a regional appeal to the state to help in funding a solution to this major transportation issue at this intersection in Washtenaw County.
Jim Carson is a Dexter Village Trustee and the village's representative on the Washtenaw Area Transportation Policy Committee.
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