After years of controversy and delays, the Polly Ann Trail pedestrian bridge over M-24 will be erected next week.
‘I think everybody’s going to get a lot of use out of it and it’s going to become a positive feature in the community,? said Amy Murrary, manager of the Polly Ann Trail.
Placement of the pre-fabricated 100-foot-long, 14-foot-wide steel bridge ‘designed to resemble a 1800s railroad bridge ? will occur between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 15 and Saturday, Sept. 16.
In the event of bad weather, work will continue on Sunday, Sept. 17.
Constructed in Fort Payne, Alabama by a company called Steadfast Bridges, the 37,196-pound bridge will be shipped in four pieces, reassembled here and set in place over M-24 Friday evening. The bridge’s 14-foot-wide cement deck will be poured Saturday evening.
Murray said the long-awaited structure should be ready for public use about a week later.
‘We’re trying to set aside about a week for that cement to cure,? she said. ‘We don’t have any reason not to open it as soon as the cement is ready.?
Located between Church and Center streets in the Village of Oxford, the bridge will connect the eastern and western sections of the Polly Ann Trail, which is currently divided by the busy state highway.
During the aformentioned construction times, northbound and southbound M-24 will be closed and traffic rerouted. Northbound traffic will turn right on E. Burdick, left on N. Glaspie St. (which becomes Oxford Rd.), then left on Ray Rd. back to M-24. For the southbound detour motorists will turn left on Church St., right on Louck St., then right on East St. back to M-24.
During the planning and approval process, the bridge was the source of much controversy among officials and residents.Proponents claimed the bridge would allow trail users such as walkers, bicyclists and hikers easy and safe access across M-24.
Opponents claimed the bridge was a waste of money and an eyesore. In 2004, 520 Oxford residents signed a petition opposing the bridge.
In July 2005, the Anlaan Corporation, based in Ferrysburg, Michigan was awarded a nearly $2.3 million contract to construct the bridge and surface 12.2 miles of the non-motorized trail between Bordman Rd. in Addison to Indianwood Rd. in Orion.
Approximately 2 miles of the trail in Leonard and Oxford has an asphalt surface, while the other 10 miles is covered by a crushed limestone.
The total trail length in Oakland County is 14.2 miles.
Nearly $1.9 million in federal funds plus more than $500,000 in matching private grants and donations were allocated for the entire project. On several previous occasions, Project Manager Larry Obrecht has assured local officials and residents that no local tax dollars will be expended.
Placement of the bridge has been delayed a few times this year due to a request from the Michigan Department of Transportation for a more costly, longer lasting chemical treatment of the bridge’s steel and paint job.
Two giant ramp-like approaches leading to where the bridge will be placed next week were constructed last year on the east and west sides of M-24 to make the structure wheelchair accessible.
Murray said the trail council is in the ‘final phase? of securing an additional approximately $200,000 in grant money from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to resurface the trail with a crushed limestone that’s ‘finer? and ‘smaller stones? than what was originally laid. This grant will be combined with approximately $100,000 from the original funding to cover the estimated $300,000 cost of resurfacing.
‘There were some problems with the way that original aggregate went down,? Murray explained ‘The surface isn’t consistent and it’s not the way we want our trail to be.?
The new layer of crushed limestone, which will hopefully be laid this fall, will give the trail a ‘smooth surface rather than a stoney-feeling surface.? It will ‘make sure? the trail is ‘usable for everybody? from moms with strollers to bicyclists to joggers, the manager said.
Formerly a railroad corridor owned by Grand Trunk Western Railroad, the land known today as the Polly Ann Trail was purchased in 1993 using more than $728,000 in federal grant money and matching funds from the DNR.