WALKER, Mich. — Years of hope. Years of lobbying. Years of waiting. Nearly a year of detours.
The end is near.
A ribbon cutting on the new Fruitridge Avenue bridge is scheduled for Friday, October 24. But it is closed to the public; and it doesn't mean the bridge will be opening right away.
Just a couple more days.
The Fruit Ridge Avenue overpass and the ramps connected to it will be open Monday, October 27.
For Walker residents, it's a long time coming.
The bridge was built in 1961 and was showing its age. The dynamic growth of Walker, especially near Fruit Ridge Avenue, included a lot more heavy truck traffic competing with cars, pickups, and SUVs. The success of Walker's Northridge Industrial Park north of I-96 accelerated the rate of wear and tear.
Everyone saw the need to replace the bridge. To increase capacity, it was decided the single bridge with one lane in each direction would be replaced by two bridges, one over I-96 eastbound and one over I-96 westbound, and the entire overpass features two lanes in each direction and a center lane. Plus, pedestrians and bicycles will be able to use a separate path that connects to the Musketawa Trail.
Enthusiasm for replacement was so high, the Michigan Legislature passed a bill in 2023 that included a line item assigning $25 million for the bridge, separate from the budget for the Michigan Department of Transportation.
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