MDOT to finish Clinton River Trail bridge in Pontiac
According to MDOT, the new trail bridge over Telegraph should be open by mid-June:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2011
CONTACT: Rob Morosi, MDOT Office of Communications, 248-483-5127
Bridging the gap! Clinton River Trail pedestrian overpass construction begins Monday, Feb. 28, in Oakland County
February 22, 2011 — The first phase of a $2 million investment to construct a pedestrian overpass above US-24 (Telegraph Road) may begin as early as Monday, Feb. 28, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). The new bridge will be constructed just north of the Orchard Lake Road overpass located at the Sylvan Lake/Pontiac border.
Due to the space limitations, lane closures will be needed on both directions of US-24 until mid-March. Weather permitting, crews will implement single and double-lane closures starting Monday, Feb.28 and lasting until Monday, March 14. Lane closures will begin on southbound US-24 and proceed to northbound US-24 during the latter part of the week.
For southbound US-24, a single lane may be closed weekdays between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. As needed, crews may close an additional southbound lane outside of those peak travel times.
For northbound US-24, a single lane may be closed weekdays from 2 p.m. until 7 p.m. Two-lane closures are permitted outside of the peak afternoon time period.
In order to safely install steel beams above US-24, full closures are expected on the first two Saturdays in March. On Saturday, March 5, southbound Telegraph Road will be closed, while on Saturday, March 12, northbound US-24 will be closed. The full closures will begin at 7 a.m. and end by 3 p.m. on both days. Detours will direct traffic to Old Telegraph Road.
Pedestrians can expect to enjoy the newly constructed overpass by mid-June. This project is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
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Tags: Clinton River Trail, MDOT, pedestrian bridge, Pontiac
February 24th, 2011 at 8:33 am
Is it bad that I get a certain joy out of the fact that they will have to close the road completely on two occasions in order to build the bridge?
February 24th, 2011 at 2:25 pm
Funny. I thought the same thing.
February 24th, 2011 at 8:27 pm
I think once it is built it will take me all the self control I can muster NOT to stop on the bridge and flip off SUV’s passing beneath during rush hour, as gas hits $7 a gallon this summer. To hell with car culture!
February 25th, 2011 at 4:28 pm
This is good news for the Clinton River Trail in that it fills one gap. But there are other gaps, specifically the Orchard Lake Road crossings on either side of the proposed bridge (especially the crossing south of the bridge) and the missing segment between the west side of Pontiac and Opdyke Road. As of now, you have to be fairly hardy to bike these gaps. I hope for these gaps to be filled so that the less hardy can bike from W.Bloomfield to Rochester.
April 19th, 2011 at 3:46 pm
The grates on the drains on the lower part of the bridge are of the type that swallow bike tires. I contacted MDOT, and they are going to replace the grates with a type which is compatible with cycling.
The trail between Orchard Lake Road (crossing #3) and Telegraph Road is in need of grading. Be wary if you are on a road bike on this section.
May 10th, 2011 at 6:10 pm
Funny you mention the grates I was about to buy some sidewalk chalk and write “ROTATE ME 90 DEGREES” with a little arrow. With those open gaps you’d have broken wrists, necks and possible deaths all summer long.
And you not only have to be hardy but a little crazy do bike the suggested route. I took a road bike all the way through and unless you want to stay on the side walk you’d better be careful. And praying never hurts.
May 12th, 2011 at 8:29 am
Rotating the grates would be an improvement, but they are definitely the wrong grates since they have openings which would even be a problem for a small motorcycle tire.