Denton Road Bridge: How about a temporary bridge over the bridge?

Those who had concerns and questions about the closed Denton Road Bridge between Van Buren Township and the city of Belleville were invited to an informational session on Feb. 9.
A crowd turned out at the VBT board meeting room to hear information from Wayne County and township officials and to ask questions of them. The meeting lasted just over an hour.
One of the interesting suggestions that VBT Supervisor Kevin McNamara said he would investigate was the proposal by a man to put up a temporary bridge over the bridge like they do in the Upper Peninsula.
He said it is secured to land on both sides of the bridge and makes it safe for pedestrians to cross. He said it can be put up in a couple of weeks and reused later for pedestrians in other areas of the county.
“I love that idea,” said Supervisor Kevin McNamara who said he would look into it.
This discussion followed questions from members of the audience on why pedestrians aren’t allowed to walk across the Denton Road Bridge, because they report people are doing it all the time.
One person said after school, the athletes who have been to practice just walk across the bridge to get home. Another person said that on his way to the meeting that afternoon he saw someone walking across the bridge and others are doing it all the time.
If the bridge was going to be closed for several years, this pedestrian crossing would be a big help, they agreed.
Andrew Kandrevas, Wayne County Director of Public Services, said he’s sure he couldn’t get county attorneys to agree to let people walk on the bridge the way it is now.
One man asked how it can be safe for boaters to go under the bridge, if people can’t walk over the bridge. He asked who he should sue when it comes down on somebody fishing or boating below?
Another man asked if you would get a ticket if you walked over the bridge and nobody knew.
“This is new to us,” said VBT Police Lt. Mark Buckberry. “I feel unsafe on the bridge.”
The meeting began with opening remarks and introductions by Supervisor McNamara, who said this is an important bridge. At first it was thought the bridge could be repaired during the first quarter of this year, but then there were more and more problems with the bridge and it has to be replaced, not repaired.
“And, it’s got to be done fast,” he said. He said it is going to be funded and they expect $7 million this year, the worst case by June.
McNamara said Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate said they were committed to getting the money for the bridge. He said those who lived through the New Boston Bridge closing knows the importance of building the bridge as fast as possible.
He said recreational use and traffic going in and out to downtown Belleville now have to drive a little bit longer.
“It’s going to get started,” he said.
Director of Municipal Services Ron Akers showed a drawing of the damage to the bridge and explained why it needed rebuilding.
“We could fix it and it would cost about half of what a new bridge would cost,” said Director Kandrevas. “But it’s still an old bridge and could fail on the other side.”
He said they are going to put in a top-of-the-line, brand-new bridge. He thanked the state partners for the promise of $7 million. He said the first step is its design. Usually this is the time they start looking for the money, but now they have the promise from the state, so that speeds it up.
Wayne County Director of Engineering Sami Khaldi, who has spent 27 years in the department, said the bridge was built in 1924 and is almost 100 years old. He said it has wood piles and they inspect it every two years, find things wrong, and fix it. Then every five years there is an underwater inspection.
He said it was due for an underwater inspection in 2018 and they hire consultants for this, but it got to be November and it was too late, and they couldn’t do it. So they did a sonic inspection. Last September they did an actual underwater inspection and the bridge was found in critical shape and unsafe to keep it open to traffic.
He said the piles were really in bad shape. He said there is a section loss in the beam. He said at first they ask if it can be repaired and the answer is yes, but it would take $3 million. They have to find a contractor. He said the Grosse Ile bridge had clearance and they could put a barge underneath. He said the vibration from fixing one end could damage it more. When there is critical work to do, the contractor can ask for a lot of money to work on it.
Khaldi said bridges have a 75-year life cycle and this is past that. He said the township wants a 10-foot path, so they have to widen the bridge. EGLE has requirements.
“We put the project on a fast track,” he said, noting the township wants to increase the clearance, put lights on the bridge and make a different looking bridge to blend with the other bridge. He said it would take one to two years to design and cost $10 million, if they can secure that.
Lt. Buckberry said the call volume is low, but service calls are high. He said the closed bridge is not a significant challenge to police.
County Commissioner Al Haidous asked if it take more than 20 minutes to get to sites on the the other side of the bridge by a detour.
Lt. Buckberry said the township has two patrol cars south of I-94 and two north of the freeway and it depends where the cars are when the calls come in.
He said Waverly on the Lake apartments have 500 occupants. He said if the cars are in the city of Belleville, they take Quirk Road and it adds one to four minutes to the run.
VBT Fire Chief Dave McInally explained that the township uses Huron Valley Ambulance to transport patients and a call did come in that evening from the other side of the bridge. He said if fire fighters/EMS come from the Sumpter and Hull roads station, it adds another three to four minutes to the run.
He said they sent responses from both stations and they met at Quirk Road. One took Beckley Road and it took eight minutes. He said if there is a confirmed fire at The Waverly, Ypsilanti Township Fire Department automatically comes for mutual aid. He said Beckley Road is a dirt road. Beckley and Denton roads are the detour roads.
Don Sherwood said Beckley is supposed to be a gravel road but not one stone of gravel has been put on it in years.
Akers said that the township has asked the county to grade and maintain Beckley Road. Sherman said Denton Road hasn’t been fixed in years. Akers said he would make a notation of that as well.
McNamara said they will try to get the county to put gravel on Beckley and see if they can mill and fill on Denton Road, although the county doesn’t like to do concrete that way.
Akers said officials have been meeting and at the Feb. 7 township board meeting the board approved requesting the township to do the engineering. The VBT engineering is estimated to take one year, which is less than the two to two and a half years estimated by the county.
Kandrevas said they have pledged to be out there taking care of the road, but it won’t be perfect. He said the city wants a turn signal at Belleville Road and N. Liberty, but the cycling of that signal will take longer for drivers to get through the interection.
He said the city had an issue with the detour signage and the county changed it. Deputy Director of Public Services Scott Cabauatan will keep the local road maintenance crew on track and, “You’ll all tell Wayne County Commissioner Al Haidous when we’re not doing a good job. He talks a lot to us.”
When the discussion was turned over to the audience, a man said the left-turn signal should only run during rush hour, so he doesn’t have to wait for it to cycle at eight o’clock at night.
Kandrevas said it would be a temporary measure during the closing of the bridge, but he couldn’t say it wouldn’t be permanent. He said the engineers will work it out. He said they will discuss details with the city. Khaldi said it could be flashing at night.