Albion lift bridge expected to reopen this afternoon
Photo by Tom Rivers: The Albion lift bridge is shown last week on Sept. 11. It is expected to reopen this afternoon around 3 p.m. after initially being shut down in November 2022.
ALBION – Nearly three years from when the Albion Main Street lift bridge was closed for a major rehabilitation, the bridge is expected to reopen this afternoon.
The state Department of Transportation said it is eyeing 3 p.m. for the bridge to reopen to traffic.
The bridge was initially closed on Nov. 14, 2022 for what was expected to be about 18 months for a major rehabilitation. That project stretched to more than two years when the bridge was reopened just after Christmas on Dec. 27, 2024.
The bridge was closed again to traffic on April 21 to finish up the extensive rehabilitation of a bridge that was originally installed in 1914.
But a “catastrophic event” occurred on May 7 during start-up testing of the control system to operate the lift bridge.
“When the system was energized, one of the electric drive controllers arced, producing a fire in the drive cabinet,” Paul Attoma, engineer-in-charge for Region 4 Construction, wrote in a letter to village officials.
The fire damaged the system beyond repair, delaying the reopening by about four more months.
