Upcoming bridge and road closures in Chippewa County
Residents across Chippewa County will be impacted by bridge and road construction projects this summer.
Starting in May and lasting for several months, the Chippewa County Road Commission will begin and complete multiple maintenance and reconstruction projects which will result in road and lane closures across the county.
The first project is Industrial Park Drive next to the Chippewa Correctional Facility. Beginning on May 16 and expected to be completed by July 4, the road will be closed for new asphalt paving as well as a new curb and gutter. The road will be totally closed but access to the Chippewa Correctional Facility will remain open.
The first bridge project is the Gogomain Road bridge just east of downtown Pickford. It will be closed from June 1 through June 23. The bridge will undergo preventative maintenance to extend the life of the bridge. The project includes re-pavement of some parts of the bridge, addressing erosion issues beneath the bridge, concrete patching and minor structural repairs. Residents are advised to use Pennington Road or M-129 as a detour.
The second project is the other Gogomain Road bridge further east, just west of Clegg Road. This bridge will be closed between July 5 and July 26 and will undergo the same life extension maintenance as the other Gogomain Road bridge. Pennington Road or M-129 can be used as a detour.
The third bridge under maintenance is on Six Mile Road over Waiska River between Forrest Side Road and Piche Road. Construction will begin July 5 and is expected to end sometime in early September.
The bridge will be completely removed and a new bridge constructed in its place. The new 20 feet by 12 feet concrete bridge will also include new asphalt pavement, high-friction surface treatment on bridge deck, a new guardrail and permanent pavement markings. Forrest Side Road, Piche Road or M-221 can be used as detours during this time.
The next road project won't result in any road closure but will have single lane closures and limited access on Six Mile Road between Forrest Side Road and M-129. Limited access begins on July 26 and is expected to last until Aug. 30. In that time, that stretch of Six Mile Road will repaved with new asphalt to extend the quality and lifetime of the road.
Flaggers will be present to regulate traffic in this area as only one lane will be open at a time. The Chippewa County Road Commission advises drivers to find alternate routes due to long delays.
The road commission also advises drivers to drive cautiously in any areas with active construction that maintain limited access for the safety of the workers.
"People should be ready for delays and people will need to drive slowly and cautiously so they don't run us over or get into a crash themselves," said Stephanie Boileau, engineer for the Chippewa County Road Commission. "There will be trucks pulling in and out of the lanes so in general, slow, cautious, alert driving would be great."
Over the next several months, the road commission will also be setting dates for smaller projects across the county that will not be shutting down traffic.
In total, these projects will cost around $8 million for the various road maintenance, repaving and upkeep.
"We're really excited to be addressing these things. These areas were problem areas for a long time and we were able to secure funding to address them," said Boileau. "As always, we'd like thank the residents of Chippewa County. They pay into a road millage every year countywide and we couldn't do this without the support of our county residents."
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Upcoming bridge and road closures in Chippewa County
