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Following the finalization of an independent structural engineer’s inspection of a bridge on Shelby Road just north of 22 Mile Road, the Macomb County Department of Roads decided to close the bridge Sept. 11 and facilitate a full fill of the span underneath the bridge with full reconstruction of a new roadway.
The bridge runs above an old railroad line that led into the former Ford Motor Co./Visteon plant near 23 Mile and Mound roads. After reaching an agreement with that property’s current owner, the MCDR finalized a plan to remove the railroad line and fill the area to facilitate the new road.
“Last week the Macomb County Department of Roads completed an independent engineering inspection of the bridge on Shelby Road over the abandoned railroad spur into the old Visteon complex north of 22 Mile Road,” MCDR Director Bob Hoepfner sad. “The inspection revealed significant deterioration, and it was determined that the structure must be closed to traffic.
“We have received permission from the owner of the old Visteon complex to remove the deck and fill the structure with earth and repave the roadway and hope to have this work completed in the next few months,” Hoepfner added. “Since this structure is located on a County Primary Road, the Macomb County Department of Roads will cover 100 percent of the project cost.”
Like all bridge replacement and reconstruction projects on primary roads in Macomb County, the Shelby Road bridge replacement falls under the MCDR policy in which the MCDR absorbs all construction costs associated with the project.
The closure on Shelby Road comes on the heels of the finalization of an agreement between the township and the MCDR to reconstruct roughly one mile of 22 Mile Road beginning 500 feet east of Shelby Road traveling west to Ryan Road.
The 22 mile Road project is independent of the Shelby Road bridge replacement, and, because 22 Mile Road is designated a local road, the costs associated with the reconstruction of the road and a box culvert over the Clinton-Kalamazoo Canal must be split between the county and Shelby Township.
