The Bicentennial Bridge between St. Joseph and Benton Harbor is once again open to vehicle traffic after being shut down all Independence Day weekend.
The Michigan Department of Transportation got traffic moving again on the bridge early Wednesday evening. But what exactly was the problem?
MDOT’s Nick Schirripa tells us at issue was one of the bridge’s hydraulic cylinders. The bridge has eight of them, and MDOT replaced four last winter. The other four were to be replaced this coming winter, but one of them developed a problem last week.
“It took them a couple days to replace that cylinder,” Schirripa said. “They got it replaced, but there was an issue with the bridge receding, or meeting itself on the way down.”
So, the bridge was left open all weekend and cars couldn’t drive over it. Schirripa told us Thursday a specialist had to come in and inspect the bridge.
“They identified that issue finally. It was a pressure control valve that malfunctioned when the hydraulics actually went out to begin with in that cylinder. So they got that pressure control valve replaced and we were able to reopen the bridge yesterday evening.”
Schirripa says the repair wasn’t especially expensive. MDOT just required a little help.
