FERRYSBURG, Mich. — For more than a hundred years, there has been a structure where Smith's Bridge now stands in Ferrysburg, spanning over similarly named Smith's Bayou beneath. After its most recent incarnation was installed in 1972, it remains a major thoroughfare for Ottawa County.
The city of Ferrysburg has been in the process of putting together a plan to update the bridge, operating under the impression that funding was in place.
About $9.92 million was being set aside for Smith's Bridge as part of the Michigan Department of Transportation's bridge bundling program.
While the actual construction was set to take place in 2024, the city was well into the process of meeting with engineers.
"We just had a meeting last week to discuss utilities, and so we kind of thought we're moving forward with it," Ferrysburg City Manager Craig Bessinger told FOX 17 Tuesday.
The funding coming through MDOT's bridge program was allocated from COVID-era American Recovery Plan dollars.
It turns out, there was a "claw back clause" within the program, that now will require them to return the funds earmarked for Smith's Bridge.
"Everybody was feeling very good," Ron Johnson, who lives near the bridge, told FOX 17 Tuesday.
Folks in the area, and throughout Ottawa County, have been dealing with issues over the bridge for some time now.
Currently, the city is paying to conduct two annual inspections of the bridge— one in April and another in October.
After an inspection back in the summer of 2019, the bridge was closed for several months.
"It created a lot of havoc for emergency vehicles...anybody that had an emergency situation, they had to go out and around. They couldn't cross the bridge," explained Ron's wife, Diane Johnson.
Despite the loss in federal funding, the efforts on behalf of Ferrysburg move forward.
“They're still working, trying to find funding for it," Bessinger said Tuesday.
"They're finishing the design phase of it, so, if money does become available, we're going to be ready, ready to move forward.”
