Bridge project expected to reduce traffic congestion
The Soo Evening News
April 21, 2011
Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. — Work to widen the pavement between the south end of the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) inspection booths is expected to begin in April.
The goal of this $1,087,695 (USD) project (federally funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) is to reduce the occurrences of a traffic “bottleneck” when southbound trucks prevent southbound passenger vehicles from accessing the inspection booths. This will be accomplished by widening the pavement between the end of the bridge and the inspection booths, allowing more space for trucks awaiting inspection.
The project will start in late-April 2011 and be complete by mid-September 2011.
Disruption to bridge traffic will be minimized and all current inspection lanes will remain useable. Interference with bridge traffic due to this project is expected to be rare and short term. Removing this bottleneck in the flow of traffic is expected to reduce wait time and congestion, reduce engine idling exhaust emissions and promote traffic safety.
The contracting agency is the U.S. General Services Administration. A “design-build” contracting process is being used to expedite the project. The lead contractor is Industrial Maintenance Services, Inc. from Wells, Michigan.