Rochester Hills

Avon Road closes for bridge work

By Linda Shepard
C & G Staff Writer

ROCHESTER HILLS — A four-plus month closure of Avon Road, east of Livernois, will challenge motorists while the bridge over the Clinton River is replaced.

“When the bridge reconstruction happens, there will be a complete closure of Avon Road,” said Rochester Hills City Council member Greg Hooper.

During the closure, which begins Feb. 6, the detour route for through traffic will be Livernois to Hamlin Road to Rochester Road, and vice versa. Local traffic accessing home, businesses and Rochester College will be allowed to use Avon Road east of the bridge.

“For months and months and probably years, the Avon Road bridge project has seemed like a dream,” Rochester Hill Mayor Bryant Barnett said. “Sort of a mirage at the end of the desert sand.”

The existing bridge structure is failing, which has required the closure of three of the five bridge lanes for the last several years, along with severe weight restrictions.

The new $3.2 million five-lane bridge will be constructed of pre-stressed concrete, paid for with a combination of state, county and local funding. The project will include repaving the roadway approaching the bridge, guardrail placement and relocation of a water main.

The new bridge will feature 10-foot-wide pedestrian walks — an upgrade of the current 8-foot-wide walks. In addition, an 8-foot-wide asphalt pathway will be constructed along the north side of Avon Road, east of the bride.

“We’ve begun the information dissemination campaign,” Barnett said. “It is a considerable closure. Our colleagues from the city of Rochester are coordinating the information with that project along with a project for their Main Street renovation, which begins in April. There will be considerable traffic changes.”

Of the $3.2 million cost for the new Avon Road bridge, nearly $2.4 million will be paid for with a Michigan Local Bridge Fund grant. The Road Commission for Oakland County and the city of Rochester Hills are covering the remainder of the cost. Dan’s Excavating of Shelby Township will perform all work on the bridge reconstruction.

The Livernois bridge over the Clinton River, south of Avon Road, will be replaced in 2013, state Road Commission officials. That bridge replacement will also involve a complete road closure, officials state.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Linda Shepard at lshepard@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1065.