Feds Freeze Leelanau Bridge Projects
The Leelanau Ticker reports that the federal funding freeze has already impacted Leelanau County road construction projects:
A pair of local bridge replacements slated for this spring and summer have been delayed indefinitely. According to Brendan Mullane, manager of the Leelanau County Road Commission (LCRC), a federal funding freeze instituted by President Trump is impacting the department’s plans to replace a pair of aging culverts on Cedar Run Creek, one at White Road and the other at Alpine Road. Mullane isn’t sure when those projects will move forward – or whether the bill will now have to be footed by local taxpayers rather than federal funds.
The White and Alpine bridge replacements were intended as part of a larger partnership between LCRC, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB), and a local nonprofit called the Conservation Resource Alliance (CRA) to replace deteriorating road-stream crossings in Leelanau County. That project has gotten significant attention for a series of bridge replacements along Crystal River, including the removal of the famous “shoot-the-tubes” culverts under County Road 675 last fall (pictured, before and after). While there are two more Crystal River culverts scheduled to be replaced this year, project partners were also ready to move forward to other rivers and streams, including Cedar Run Creek.
…Although the Alpine and White crossings are on hold, locals can still expect work to proceed as planned on a pair of remaining culvert replacement projects on Crystal River. Mullane confirms work is still on schedule for “Crossings 1 and 2” near the intersection of County Road 675 and M-22 in Glen Arbor where 675 bisects Crystal River. One of those bridges will be replaced this spring or early summer, while the other will be handled in late summer or early fall.
A pair of other culvert projects, – one where South Cedar Road crosses over Cedar Run Creek, the other where Good Harbor Trail bisects Victoria Creek – are likely to be delayed, Mullane says. Those projects were slated for next year.
Ken took this photo on the Crystal & you can see a lot more of this beautiful river that winds from Fisher Lake to Lake Michigan on Ken’s Flickr. View & purchase his work on his website!
