Stadium bridges dedication ceremony set for May 14 in Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor officials are planning to hold a brief dedication ceremony for the new East Stadium Boulevard bridges at 10 a.m. May 14.
U.S. Rep. John Dingell, who helped the city secure nearly $14 million in highly competitive federal grant funding for the bridges, is expected to be in attendance for the ribbon cutting, along with representatives from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Michigan Department of Transportation, Washtenaw County, city of Ann Arbor, project contractors and neighbors.
Motorists drive over the newly constructed East Stadium Boulevard bridges in Ann Arbor right after the roadway opened for the first time about 4:10 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
The $22.8 million replacement of the 83-year-old spans over State Street and the adjacent railroad tracks was undertaken with motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians in mind.
The bridges officially opened in November after a year of construction. The city held a pre-opening celebration for the Lower Burns Park neighborhood last fall that allowed some of the residents most affected by the construction to walk across the new bridges for the first time.
City officials said in November some remaining work would take place through May, including placing permanent pavement markings, completing landscaping and anti-graffiti coating, installing permanent right-of-way monuments and performing a number of routine "punch list" items.
Ann Arbor received $13.9 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation and about $2.9 million from the state to cover nearly three quarters of the cost. The remaining funds came from various city sources, including the city's street and bridge resurfacing and reconstruction millage.
Some of the project elements included improved sight distances, the addition of on-street bike lanes, sidewalks on both sides of the road, improved street lighting, greater vertical and horizontal clearances for both bridge spans, construction of a sidewalk on the west side of State Street and improved pedestrian access to East Stadium Boulevard via new staircases at State Street.
The staircases feature light posts along the outside edge for enhanced visibility and an internal heating system intended to prevent ice and snow from accumulating on steps. Also on the staircases are raised troughs on each side to facilitate walking bicycles up and down the stairs.
The project also included stormwater quality improvements, new water mains, improvements to Rose-White Park, landscaping, and many other features.
Four artists from across the country are now competing for a potentially $360,000 contract from the city of Ann Arbor to create a new public art installation at the site of the Stadium bridges. Members of the public were invited to meet the four finalists during an open house last month.
Design proposals from the artists are due May 9.
Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.
Comments
EyeHeartA2
Mon, May 6, 2013 : 1 a.m.
Attention grab for a fossil.
mady
Sun, May 5, 2013 : 7:45 p.m.
Waste of time.
jns131
Sun, May 5, 2013 : 3:38 p.m.
They should have repaved that small section near the stadium and the bridge before making a dedication ceremony. That stretch is falling apart. Dedication? What dedication? Stadium still needs work. Don't look for me there.
Lou Belcher
Sun, May 5, 2013 : 1:41 p.m.
If I were still mayor, I would be totally embarrassed to cut a Ribbon celebrating a well designed and built $22M stadium bridge. The east entrance is also well done....resurfaced completely to Packard. We are now searching for a well designed, magnificent piece of foreign art (partly paid for out of a % of road resurfacing $s). Then horrors of horrors......someone in the visiting media will notice something we A2 drivers know....some nincompoop forgot that the west entrance is a piece of rubble....Why in the heck when we had the equipment, contractor, and the roadway closed did not we complete the whole job. Are we forgetting that piece of roadway is one of the most traveled in the city and one that most visitors see? Now, we will have to complete it and slow down bridge traffic once more and at a much higher price.....did we run out of funds or do we need the bucks for a French piece of art? Is this a great Republic or what ?
Dog Guy
Sat, May 4, 2013 : 11:48 p.m.
It is good that we will have something tangible to remind us of Dingell when he's gone because nobody lives forever. But there are exceptions to every rule.
MRunner73
Sat, May 4, 2013 : 10:06 p.m.
Once the new bridges were open to traffic, I would have thought a ceremony should have taken place back then. Hard to notice the touch up projects going on. Traffic is flowing nicely through the corridor per higher volumes. The pavement west of the bridges is crumbling badly and needs to be redone.
Ann English
Sat, May 4, 2013 : 11:38 p.m.
I was hoping that rough pavement on the bridges' west side would be mentioned by the reporter.
Colorado Sun
Sat, May 4, 2013 : 7:47 p.m.
This particular "ceremony" is being conducted for several reasons: Marcia Higgins is running for re-election as a Fourth Ward City Councilperson and her declared opponent Jack Eaton has criticzed her for years for her inability to have a "shovel-ready" plan to take advantage of federal monies that had been available long ago to address this eyesore. Higgins has taken flak for years from other Fourth Ward residents as well regarding her perceived inaction relative to this issue. Marcia Higgins can appear at this event and take (undeserved) credit for the project's financing and completion - which was chiefly, if not completely, the work of others. Secondly, this will be another opportunity for other politicians to promote themselves - this has not been well-taken previously. When a similar ceremony was held at the bridge - an irate motorist angered at the back-up of traffic created by the event yelled at Dingell to take his dog-and-pony show somewhere else. I am appalled at all the self-congratulations by local politicians over the belated TIGER II financing and needed repairs that should have been effectuated years earlier but for incompetence and neglect of elected officials.
Tag
Sun, May 5, 2013 : 1:10 a.m.
Great response. This ceremony is a total waste of time, money and at 6 months after the bridge re-opened is ridiculous.
RUKiddingMe
Sat, May 4, 2013 : 7:01 p.m.
Any update on that Public Art Commission/Percent for Art program? Kind of a long time ago we had that vote and they said they needed to figure out how to handle it. Any deadline for a decision? Oh, and I see they're thinking about adding more people to the commission, hopefully students. I sincerely hope that they are VOLUNTEERS, not paid with taxes, and that they are Ann Arbor school students, not U of M students.
WalkingJoe
Sat, May 4, 2013 : 5:46 p.m.
A dedication for work that should have been done years ago? And we wonder why people become cynical about government and politicians.
yohan
Sat, May 4, 2013 : 5:39 p.m.
I see that the electrical wiring has already failed. Every other street light is out on the north side. Yes, let the politicians celebrate