Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
A TRUCK crosses Jackson Creek on M-28 east of Wakefield Monday evening. Construction on the road wrapped up Monday afternoon, reopening the road for the first time since May. It had been scheduled to reopen Sept. 8, but the project encountered numerous delays.
By RICHARD JENKINS
Wakefield - The wait is over. For the first time since the end of May, drivers on M-28 could use the bridge over Jackson Creek Monday afternoon.
The bridge east of Wakefield had been expected to reopen Wednesday after the Michigan Department of Transportation announced Friday it was pushing back the prior target date of the weekend due to "rainy weather and saturated ground conditions."
However, according to MDOT spokesman Dan Weingarten, work wrapped up Monday.
"The work was completed sooner than expected, so the contractor was able to open to traffic this afternoon," Weingarten said.
Drivers were forced to take a detour using U.S. 2 and either M-64 or U.S. 45 to bypass the bridge over the roughly five months M-28 was closed for construction.
The bridge had originally been expected to be finished Sept. 8, however, the $3.9 million project encountered a number of delays - including weather and construction delays, as well as a statewide labor dispute.
The original bridge was built in 1932, according to MDOT, and had reached the end of its service life.
It was replaced with a larger structure that is five feet higher, 20 feet longer and 11 feet wider than the old bridge.
The new bridge is expected to have a lifespan of approximately 75 years with routine maintenance.
