Repair or replace
MDOT weighs bridge options
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HOUGHTON - The Michigan Department of Transportation is currently preparing for an extensive, multi-year repair and upgrade project on the Portage Lake Bridge, according to an August 20 MDOT press release.
MDOT Superior Region Media Representative Dan Weingarten said MDOT is currently weighing two options: Either repair the lift span in place, or completely remove and replace it.
"Over time it’s gotten to the point where it needs major repairs," he said. "What we’re trying to determine now is whether it makes sense to try and repair it in place, or build a new span and replace the one that’s there."
Work will also include replacing the northernmost lift span's concrete deck, partial bridge painting, and needed attention to the lift span itself.
For the project, MDOT is using a collaborative process in the planning, which is a departure from the department's usual bid process, said Weingarten. The project involves a contracted partner aiding in design evolution, with an independent engineering firm validating cost estimates. Should MDOT and the contractor fail to reach a price agreement, the project will revert to standard procurement procedures.
"In the course of pursuing the CMGC (Construction Manager/General Contractor) process ," Weingarten said, "if it had gone the way we originally thought, there would have been preliminary work starting later this year and then into '27, but because they want to investigate the possibility of replacing the entire lift span, rather than trying to fix it in place, you know do a bunch of major work on that span while we’re still trying to get traffic across."
A major concern for MDOT is maintaining traffic across Portage Lake while the span is being replaced. "Well that’s something that we’re looking at currently," said Weingarten. "So, we envision a very rapid switch-out, you know float the old center span out, float the new one in and hopefully the bridge would not be out of service or for very long."
During the time there is no connection between Houghton and Hancock, he said, alternate ways of moving people and traffic must be considered.
"There’s a number of different ideas that have been floated:, Weingarten said. "A ferry, or a temporary bridge crossing, there’s many things that we’d have to look at, but the trade-off here is that we would have a brief period where where the center span was completely moved out of the way and a new one brought in."
It would create a very brief interruption, he said, but another option being considered is to repair the existing span in place, which MDOT is cautious about. Weingarten said that would involve three full winters of work on the span, which would involve traffic being reduced to one lane in each direction.
"It's going to be a major disruption, but three three winters of disruption to traffic is what we’re weighing that against, right? And that's also a big deal for the communities, and we realize that," he said.
The impact of frigid temperatures combined with windchills on workers in the winter is also of concern. "When the wind howls down the canal in January and February it is brutal,” Weingarten said. "That is definitely something we would have to take into account, not just for the workers but, also trying to do concrete work in winter."
There are benefits to installing a new lift span, he said, which includes having new components, and replacing the span would cause a significantly shorter time of traffic disruption.
Contrary to rumors circulating in the community, Weingarten said, the entire bridge is not being replaced. "Obviously, with those towers, they are anchored into the bedrock," he said. "Those are not something you can float into position. But the center span, in and of itself is, is a big project, it’s a large structure."
Weingarten said he would caution people not to jump to conclusions on what may happen. "When we say that we have not determined which route we’re going to take here, that is absolutely the truth. We are trying to evaluate all the possible avenues of doing this major repair work and we’re going to try to find the one that is best in terms of construct-ability, the one that can be built most feasibly, and looking at the keeping the expenses down as much as possible."