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www.mybaycity.com May 20, 2012
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The Damn Bridge Is Open . . . Again!

Instead of P*##@$# and Moaning - I'm Doing Something About It
RESEARCH

May 20, 2012       1 Comments
By: O. J. Cunningham

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You're probably from Bay City if you recognize the picture at the top of this column.

Make all the jokes you want . . . but this scene (pictured above) is getting all too damn familiar to me . . . it seems on an almost daily basis, I'm parked on some bridge that crosses the Saginaw River, waiting for the bridge to close.

I'm sure you're seeing it too since we're all trying to navigate this city -- East Side to West Side to East Side again -- just to earn our daily bread.

One thing for sure . . . it hasn't helped the traffic pattern that the Harry Truman (Wilder) Bridge is "still broken," and the 25,000 cars that normally pass over it every day . . . are passing over some other bridge.

Also, to make matters worse, the Lafayette Bridge seems to randomly closed during the day on Saturday and quite often, it seems there's a lane or two that are blocked off on Vet's Bridge, too.

When it rains . . . It pours.

According to a May 17 Bay City Times (MLIVE) report, "Mechanical and electrical upgrades to the bridge are being done in a project 95 percent funded by a grant from the Michigan Department of Transportation."

And . . . as the article goes on to explain . . . (maybe) the bridge will be open in a week or two.

Ironically . . . The travel brochures that hype our little burg of Bay City, refer to the bridges (There are 4 . . . Lafayette, Vet's, Liberty and Truman) as part of the underlying "charm" of our geographic location.

I never think of an "open" bridge as charming when it's open to let boat traffic pass through.

To make matters even worse, now, the City Fathers have closed off Midland Street between Wenonah and Euclid. (What are they thinking?) Yet another obstacle for travelers to get from Euclid to the Liberty Bridge. Yet another detour.

I've lived here a long time and never once have had the City's bridge opening and closing policy explained to me.

Does it ever seem like the city planning dudes are just screwing with us, sometimes?

Anyway . . . So . . . Friday . . . while parked on the bridge . . . waiting for a sailboat to pass . . .

I GOOGLED IT.

Here's what I learned and it just might provide some help to get you through the Summer.

  • From April 15 through November 1,
  • Between 6:30 am and 7:00 p.m.,
  • Monday through Friday (Except Holidays)

    TRUMAN & VETS = TV
    Top of the Hour & 30 After -- the draws of the Independence and the Veterans Memorial Bridges need open for the passage of recreational vessels only from three minutes before to three minutes after the hour and half-hour,

    LIBERTY & LAFAYETTE = L BRIDGES
    15 After and 45 After -- Liberty Street and Lafayette Street Bridges need open for the passages of recreational vessels only from three minutes before to three minutes after the quarter-hour and three-quarter hour.

    The "L" Bridges are 15 and 45.
    The "L" Bridges are 15 and 45.
    The "L" Bridges are 15 and 45.
    The "L" Bridges are 15 and 45.
    The "L" Bridges are 15 and 45.
    The "L" Bridges are 15 and 45.

    The "TV" Bridges open at the top of the hour.

    WEEKENDS & HOLIDAYS -- If any boat signals for the bridge to open . . . The bridge opens for them -- No matter what time of the day it is.

    The "L" Bridges are 15 and 45.


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    Red Baron says:       On May 29, 2012 at 12:48 PM
    When does the Indy open to water traffic
    Agree? or Disagree?


    O. J. Cunningham

    O. J. Cunningham is the Publisher of MyBayCity.com. Cunningham previously published Sports Page & Bay City Enterprise. He is the President/CEO of OJ Advertising, Inc.

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