MDOT opens Main Street bridge

Officials of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) opened the Main Street M-139 bridge Wednesday located in Niles, Mich.

The new bridge crosses the St. Joseph River, which passes through downtown Niles and Berrien County.

This bridge is meant to help the community maintain its historic aesthetics. Crews and officials gathered input from the local community to guarantee that the new bridge would serve residents and visitors while maintaining historical value.

The bridge needed to be improved for the sake of pedestrian and driver safety. Now there are wider lanes for traffic, sidewalks and look-out areas located on either side of the bridge, making it friendlier for pedestrians.

The bridge project cost approximately $10.6 million to reconstruct. Crews began working on the bridge in October of last year. Some delays occurred because of utility work. Despite this, the historic bridge was completely reconstructed while remaining within the budget.

The finishing touches of painting and certain restoration work is scheduled to be completed this coming spring. These last projects will not affect the traffic that uses the new bridge.