BAY CITY, MI – Bay City Bridge Partners is hosting another Coffee with the Crew event on Tuesday, Aug. 30 from 9 – 9:30 a.m. at the Doubletree Riverfront Hotel Grille Lounge. Attendees will get to learn more about when they can expect lanes to reopen on the Liberty Bridge and how the project is going.
BCBP announced during a previous Coffee with the Crew event on July 22 that it was expecting to open the southern lanes to traffic by the end of August. However, BCBP stated in the event notice for the upcoming meet-up that it is facing issues that could cause further delays.
“While we celebrate this accomplishment – along with countless others on the bridge deck demolition and replacement – we also face supply chain challenges and a few unforeseen delays that will change the date we can safely reopen the south lanes to traffic,” said BCBP in the notice.
Because of this, BCBP stated that it is re-prioritizing and shifting work to the northern lanes ahead of schedule. No date is yet available for when the southern lanes will be reopened.
The full reopening of the structure is still on track for the end of the year, according to BCBP.
BCBP, a subsidiary of United Bridge Partners, is leasing the Liberty Bridge from Bay City while rehabilitating the structure to turn it into a toll bridge. BCBP began work on the Liberty Bridge in December 2021 with the original goal to keep the bridge open to traffic.
Traffic was limited to the north side of the bridge at the time until a significant pothole developed, ultimately closing the bridge to all traffic in February 2022.
In May, it was announced that the Liberty Bridge would be closed to traffic longer than expected. Early estimates from BCBP placed the re-opening of the southern lanes in late June/early July. However, that date has continued to be pushed back due to delays.
Despite the delays, BCBP announced a milestone on the rehabilitation project. On Tuesday, Aug. 23, crews were reported to have slowly lowered one-half of the bridge while testing and measuring newly installed mechanical components.
Read more from MLive:
Crews pour first section of new concrete on Bay City’s Liberty Bridge
Bay City Bridge Partners clarifies rumors regarding tolling timeline
