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Have patience with bridge project

Beginning Feb. 1, the Bagley Street Bridge will be closed for most of the rest of the year for a $10.3 million renovation project.

The bridge “was built for the needs of” the 1970s, when it was first erected, Alpena County Road Commission Managing Director Ryan Brege said. “Where we stand with it now, with Bagley Street being so important, it needs serious maintenance. We are essentially doubling the width of the bridge, and it will be more user-friendly for motorists and pedestrians.”

The project will force a large detour for motorists around Bagley, which will be closed from the Road Commission driveway, just north of the Wolverine State Credit Union, north to the Word of Life Baptist Church. Access to Burkholder Drive will be maintained.

For most of 2021, that detour will cause a lot of headaches for motorists trying to get from Long Rapids Road down to M-32 or vice versa.

But the project, funded mostly by state and federal dollars, is a worthwhile one that will improve a major thoroughfare for the region and make for better pedestrian access to one of the most picturesque views of the Thunder Bay River.

So we urge motorists to have patience, knowing that, when it’s done, the Bagley Street Bridge remodel will make for a better trip.

(THE ALPENA NEWS)

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