Bridge Construction Continues on M-22

By Jane Greiner
Sun staff writer

Will the new bridge over the Crystal River be completed by July 4th? “Absolutely not for the 4th,” said construction supervisor Dallas Wood of Milbocker & Sons Construction. We stood on the north side of the bridge while crews worked along the sides, and two cranes and a front-end loader worked behind us. American flags fluttered at the top of each crane. His best guess was that the bridge would be finished by the end of July. “I want it done just as much as everyone else does,” he said.
The job had been a tight one to start with for the Allegan-based construction company. Work began on January 27 in the worst of the winter. In addition, the site makes everything harder as there is no room to work.
Wood said he had about 15 men working during late June. His crews have varied from about 10 to 15 men according to what the job entails. They have been working six-day weeks most of the time since the project began, taking off only Memorial Day and one or two Saturdays.
The process of building the bridge does not divert water from the Crystal River. Wood did his best to explain the complicated process: First, heavy steel interlocking sections which look like giant red corrugated roofing are driven in, sandwiching each section of (future) bridge walls to form cofferdams. Concrete is then poured in underwater. That seals the walls. The water is pumped out, leaving an approximately six-foot wide dry area between the cofferdams for construction. The steel cofferdam pilings are cut off “to grade” and the footings are built inside the protected area. Finally, the actual bridge walls are built on top of the footings.
The walls are called retaining walls because their purpose is to keep the ground underneath the road leading to the bridge from spreading out to the sides or into the river. The 70-foot bridge spanning beams were hoisted in place by cranes. The entire bridge structure of retaining walls and span is close to 200 feet long from one end to the other.
A bright yellow turbidity curtain floating in the river around the construction helps keep silt from getting into the stream.
A brown silt fence surrounds the entire work site to help prevent dirt and silt on the site from spreading out into the nearby environment.
According to the MDOT website, the bridge will cost 2.2 million dollars and will include a stone façade and wrought iron railings. It will widen the road to allow for a pedestrian and bike path on both sides of the automobile lanes.