Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette— Crews work on the Pilgrim River Bridge in Portage Township Wednesday.

PORTAGE TOWNSHIP — Construction of the new Pilgrim River Bridge is proceeding on schedule.

Work on the bridge began a couple of weeks ago and is expected to wrap up in mid-October, said John Cima, assistant engineer for the Houghton County Road Commission.

“That’s what we had anticipated, and I think we’re still looking at that time frame,” he said.

The bridge has been closed since it was washed out by the June 2018 flooding.

So far, crews have removed a damaged culvert, done some excavating and driven piling for the substructure of the bridge, Cima said. MJO Construction is handling the project.

The damaged culvert, which had been there since 1954, was metal with a 20-foot span. Its replacement is more than twice as wide — 42 feet — and concrete, Cima said.

Funding for the $1.8 million project mostly comes from Federal Highway Administration flood repair money. The county is providing a 20% match.