Here's how a 78,100-pound bridge was placed over the Black River Canal

PORT HURON — A giant crane loomed over the Black River Canal early Tuesday, slowly maneuvering a long-awaited, 78,100-pound truss bridge over the waterway.

The structure is the first — and biggest step — in completing the $1.4 million north-end pedestrian pathway, connecting neighboring Port Huron school properties along the canal and a section of the Bridge to Bay Trail along St. Clair County’s waterfront.

The bridge could be available for walkers and bicyclists to use within a few weeks.

“It would be our walking destination anyway, just because of the water and the wildlife, but it’s exciting,” resident Sharon Oleaga said while walking her dog, Matilda, near the steep canal bank as the bridge installation took place. “Other people that I know that have lived in Port Huron all their life, or most of their life, are excited also. They’re happy about it.”

It took seven hours to assemble the crane to move the bridge

A small crowd of community officials and spectators assembled Tuesday to watch the process from the southern side of the canal near Holland Woods Middle School.

Across the way, the view of Port Huron Northern High School was blocked by the project’s construction and crane operation — complete with a 171-foot-tall boom.

Eric Witter, the city’s public works director, said a smaller, five-axle crane was used to assemble a larger crane used to lift the bridge. The main crane had a capacity of 900 tons, but was configured Tuesday to handle 350. It took seven hours to assemble the crane for the bridge installation, he said.

The bridge itself — 10 feet in width, with a coppery patina and originally in three sections — arrived on the north side of the canal in February, drawing enough community excitement to arrange Tuesday’s viewing.

Witter said the bridge itself was roughly 35 to 40 feet above the canal's surface, though it'd depend on water levels down the road.

City manager: Canal pathway to be ready for use later this spring

A joint project, installation of the bridge was spearheaded by the Community Foundation of St. Clair County, the city of Port Huron, and Port Huron Area Schools. The project was bid out by the city last year with the $1.4 million cost rising from the estimate of $650,000 projected two years ago.

"This is a very significant milestone in our region's effort to complete the remaining gaps in the Bridge to Bay Trail system," Randy Maiers, president and CEO of the Community Foundation, said in a message Wednesday. He credited the effort to the project's partners, which additionally included support from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. "Later this year, we hope to see major progress on critical trail gaps in Marysville and St. Clair."

Spectators reflected on the size of the operation Tuesday. A few joked about keeping local kids from dangerously jumping into the canal below or Mayor Pauline Repp being the first to cross it.

“I don’t know how you’re going to keep kids off,” one person said. Because of the height, officials discourage jumping into the canal.

While some stood along the canal bank for photos, Oleaga approached City Manager James Freed, asking when the pedestrian pathway would be ready for use.

“They’re going to pour it in the next couple of weeks, and pretty much, probably May 1, if not sooner,” he told her.

The canal trail will begin off Gratiot Avenue, heading west along the south side of the waterway, north between the schools and down Krafft Road.

“Actually, it’s part of why we bought here,” said Oleaga, who lives nearby on Ramblewood Drive. “We just moved here from Arizona. We knew they were doing the Bay to Bridge, and we’re avid walkers, bicyclists.”

Before it moved, the bridge helped give students an engineering lesson

Days before the truss bridge swooped into place Tuesday, another small crowd got a close-up view.

City public works staff and representatives from Tetra Tech, the firm that managed the project, spoke with Port Huron and Port Huron Northern high school students last week for a lesson in civil engineering, using the bridge as a case study in how structures are designed and constructed, and sites surveyed.

City Engineering Manager Brent Moore asked students to consider how they approach solving problems to meet community needs — like helping people cross the canal.

“There’s one. That makes sense," Moore said of solutions as a student motioned toward the bridge.

"A tunnel? What’s the problem with a tunnel?" Moore asked the students. "You’ve got maintenance costs, right? The other option is just don’t do the project. But that doesn’t solve the problem. So, that’s kind of the first step. The second step is, ‘OK, now, we’re going to figure out how much this is going to cost.’”

Teachers said the project provided students real-life examples they can use in class.

“Looking at a lot of stuff in the real world,” Kyle Whymer, who teaches at Northern, said, motioning to students pouring over plans with civil engineers and surveyors. “So, these guys, it’s great for them to come out and see that. And just listening to them, they’re talking about testing materials on this. Maybe even as early as tomorrow, some kids are getting ahead and getting into our materials testing section. So, it’s just hitting a bunch of different topics.”

Contact Jackie Smith at 810-989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Here's how a 78,100-pound bridge was moved over the Black River Canal