JACKSON COUNTY, Mich. (WLNS) — A community meeting is being held Tuesday to discuss bridge and water main replacement projects in Jackson County.
The open house is at the University Region Office at 4701 W. Michigan Ave. in Jackson, and runs from 4-6 p.m. Experts will be at the meeting to answer questions from the public.
Officials with the Michigan Department of Transportation say Tuesday is the next step in the security clearance process to start clearing the old bridges from the city of Jackson.
This particular project is a three-for-one, and if cleared the state time spans from 2024 until 2025. The Luis Glick Highway Bridge project starts summer 2023, and Cooper Street Bridge over the Grand River, along with a new water main along cooper Street and Washington Avenue, starts in 2025.
These projects will be presented at an open house to the public for the first time. Jason Pittman, of MDOT, says the only people who would oppose it are people who “do not want to give up recreational use of Grand River.”
“Obviously if there’s people that are using the Grand River in a recreational way, they’re not going to want to be limited. However, for the safety of everybody; for the type of work we’re doing, and the limited space between the river and the bridges — it is something we need to do for the safety of everybody,” Pittman said.
Even with the small chance of pushback, Pittman says when you get to this point, it’s necessary to do some kind of rebuilding, as both bridges have reached the end of their lifespan.
