The Jefferson Street bridge in Plymouth will be closing beginning Thursday.
Michael Obergfell from USI Consultants told the Marshall County commissioners Monday morning that the concrete slabs by the bridge are not stable and the sidewalk is not reinforced. The bridge was rehabilitated in 1986 but a storm sewer line is leaking and may be causing stability issues.
Obergfell suggested that the commissioners close the bridge so crews can immediately fix the issue.
“What we looked at is putting a concrete cut-off wall there, particularly at the northwest corner, but it would work identically at all of the other corners. It’s our recommendation to do all four corners at this time, shut down the bridge for three to four weeks and get it done all at once,” said Obergfell.
Obergfell said he hopes the work can be done at the least cost possible and crews can diagnose and fix the problem.
“That would entail pulling out those concrete approach slabs and the sidewalks at each end, finding the source of the problem and fixing that and then properly back-filling it and building this cut-off wall so it doesn’t happen again.”
The big worry is a rather large gas line that is near the area so workers will proceed with caution.
He anticipates the cost to be around $100,000 but the cost will not exceed $130,000.
If an issue lies within the storm sewer line, the city of Plymouth would be responsible for costs associated with any necessary repairs.
The commissioners declared this an emergency and approved a notice to proceed.
The Marshall County highway department will put up signs Thursday morning detouring traffic around the closure. The closure is expected to be in place for up to four weeks.
