WALKER, Mich. — The bane of Walker drivers is about to be replaced.
The railroad bridge over Bristol Avenue at Pannell Street is a one-lane squeeze with only 10 feet of clearance. Both attributes are problems for traffic: drivers must wait for oncoming vehicles to make it through the underpass, and taller vehicles have been known to hit the bridge.
Beginning March 25, Bristol Avenue will be closed, presenting yet another inconvenience: a detour. But the payoff will be a new bridge with one lane in each direction, increased clearance to 14 feet, upgraded utilities, a new sidewalk, and a three-way stop at Pannell Avenue.
Federal and state grants are helping pay for the bridge replacement.
The new bridge will be prettier, too.
“We've got some brick patterns and some ledgestone patterns that are going to go on the bridge to give it a little bit of a historic look. We're pretty proud of the way it's going to look," Walker City Engineer Scott Connors told FOX 17 in an earlier interview.
The plan is to have the bridge done and two-way traffic on Bristol Avenue by the end of August.
