OAK PARK (WWJ) – Plans are in the works to rebuild a pedestrian bridge over I-696 that causes a danger for Metro Detroit drivers in the winter due to icicles.
The Michigan Department of Transportation announced Thursday it will receive a $21.7 million grant from the federal government to rebuild the Victoria Park Plaza Bridge along Church Street between Greenfield and Coolidge.
MDOT officials say the freeway often has to be shut down during the winter months because leaks in the bridge cause large icicles to form and dangle over motorists on the freeway, "which could lead to serious injury if the ice flies through a driver's windshield."
MDOT monitors the icicle formation during colder months, spending an estimated $300,000 a year on maintenance to safely remove the icicles.
Construction on the project – estimated to cost a total of $43 million – is expected to begin in 2025, according to MDOT.
The grant is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, which was established under President Joe Biden's infrastructure law. The program aims to reconnect neighborhoods by removing, retrofitting, or mitigating transportation barriers, such as highways and railroad tracks.
MDOT officials say the Victoria Park Plaza Bridge is especially important for the community of Oak Park, as it has one of the highest number of Jewish households in Metro Detroit.
"Sustained by close-knit, Orthodox Jewish families, the community benefits from access to centrally located places of worship, religious schools, kosher shopping facilities, restaurants, butcher shops, bakeries, bookstores, and other venues," an MDOT press release says. "For many in the community, these institutions and specialized retail venues are located across I-696 from where they reside. Religious law prevents work and driving on the Sabbath, which runs from sundown Friday until nightfall Saturday, and on Jewish holy days. During these times, most transportation is by foot to one or more synagogues, community events, and homes."
