Repairs on U.S. Route 127 bridge slow Pickard Street traffic, will be completed Friday

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Traffic on a portion of East Pickard Street remains constricted to a lane as crews finish repairs to the U.S. Route 127 bridge in Union Township.

The stretch of Pickard underneath and on both sides of the bridge have been restricted to one lane in each direction because the repairs are being made during the day, said Michigan Department of Transportation spokeswoman Anita Richardson. Traffic will return to normal Friday.

A flatbed truck put a large dent in the bridge, including steel beams that held up the structure, said Union Township Supervisor John Barker.

“(The truck) was too high and going a decent speed in July,” Barker said.

The repairs are extending the life of the bridge. It also increases motor safety for drivers, Richardson said.

The majority of repairs have been made to the structure and all that is left is repainting the beams, she said.

“I’ve never heard of painting during the winter, but it needs to be done,” Barker said.

He said the repairs have slowed down traffic, particularly for morning and evening commutes. The delays in traffic are not much longer than five to 10 minutes, Barker said.

The lane closures can be a bit of a headache, but so far the township has not received many complaints from motorists, Barker said.

“We’re lucky that we don’t have such heavy traffic,” Barker said. “Bigger counties in the state like Macomb and Oakland have more traffic and would have longer delays.”

The total cost of the project is $242,000.

All lanes were open last weekend, but work on the bridge started up again Monday.

Traffic lanes and ramps on U.S. 127 remain open as the project is carried out.