By Michael Piwowarski
MIDLAND — That little red one-lane bridge that connects Currie Golf Course to downtown Midland is now a one-way, indefinitely.
Currie Parkway Bridge is one of three Midland bridges that crosses the Tittabawassee River and offers passage to and from the downtown Midland area. It was permanently converted to an eastbound one-way street, as unanimously approved by the Midland city council Monday, Jan. 27.
The bridge was closed in fall 2018 due to damage that was sustained when a vehicle that weighed more than the bridge’s 5-ton limit crossed it.
City engineer Joshua Fredrickson told the Collegiate that bearings, rods and steel members had to be repaired before the bridge could reopen, which it did in June 2019.
A temporary traffic control order was issued by the city on June 27 to make the road one-way. Fredrickson says this was due to a high volume of traffic putting stress on the 112-year-old bridge.
“We’ve gone out there and visually observed [the] traffic volumes, because you’re sending them one direction only, volumes are down dramatically,” says Fredrickson.
During public comment at the city council meeting, Fredrickson said that this measure will cut the bridge’s daily traffic in half, since allowing only one direction means that commuters would just use one of the other two bridges — on M-20 or Poseyville — for the return trip.
Although data has been collected on bridge traffic, Fredrickson says there are no specific figures available at this time.
“We monitor traffic on a regular basis,” Fredrickson told the Collegiate. “We collect traffic counts, we collect turn movements and things like that at intersections.”
Fredrickson wrote to Midland city manager C. Bradley Kaye that the temporary one-way traffic order was extended until this January to allow for additional time for public comment. One written comment was received from city resident Melissa Ottjepka.
“Please reconsider! This is very inconvenient for citizens who are handicap and need to get to the dog park,” Ottjepka wrote. “You are making our trip twice as far — 5 miles vs 2.5 mile.”
Ottjepka further stated that “My husband lives with physical limitations as well as a traumatic brain injury and cannot walk long distances. To walk over the Tridge to reach the dog park is the equivalent of running the Boston Marathon for him.”
However, as Fredrickson stated, no additional formal comments were submitted regarding the bridge’s operation as a one-way bridge. With very few people present for public comment at the Jan. 27 meeting, the council went ahead with the vote.
The one-way stretch extends from Golfside Drive to W Main Street. Motorists may access Main Street from the bridge, but are now prohibited from accessing the bridge from Main Street westward.
The next step, as Fredrickson says, is to convert the entire stretch of road to a single lane. Currently, while the bridge itself has always been one lane, the road is at two lanes from Golfside Drive to the start of the bridge. Future renovations will include adding a curb to reduce this part of the road to one lane.
