UNION CITY, MI (WTVB) – It’s a day that Union City residents have looked forward to for the last several months. The official grand opening of the North Broadway Street bridge will take place Tuesday afternoon with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 1:00 p.m.
The bridge is opening three days ahead of the previously planned date.
Jeff Wingard won a raffle which was held to determine who would drive across the new bridge first.Police Chief and Village Manager Chris Mathis said in a video posted on the village’s Facebook page that all funds raised from the raffle will go towards the Amphitheater and new playground equipment.
Final touches to the bridge were performed Monday, including the painting of the lines.
Union City residents had to be patient in recent months as work on the new bridge led to several detours around the village. The old bridge stood for nearly 40 years before it was taken down in February.
The new $1.5 million bridge is being made possible by a state grant with a local match of five percent.
The new bridge will be the fourth structure to be built on the span. The bridge was originally built over a century ago but it was washed away by floods in 1908. It was resurfaced in the 1955 and a new structure was dedicated in 1978.
It’s estimated the North Broadway Street bridge sees about two million cars pass over it every year.
