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Whites Bridge rebuild: County hopes to reopen bidding by fall

Posted at 6:25 PM, Aug 26, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-26 18:25:07-04

IONIA COUNTY, Mich. -- The rebuilding of the Whites Bridge is on hold, but construction could be just months away.

The Whites Bridge Historical Society has raised nearly half a million dollars to rebuild the historic Keene Township bridge, but the Ionia County Road Commission is still looking for a contractor.

Although bids were taken earlier this month, contractors still had questions on some of the new bridge's specifications that the road commission couldn't answer.

They hope to have the answers the contractors need soon, and want to reopen the bridge for bidding by the end of this fall.

Whites Bridge was burned down by an arsonist in July 2013.  The old bridge spanned 120 feet across the Flat River and was a covered bridge of historic significance to the community.

The road commission says the new bridge will replicate the original as closely as possible.