UPDATE: Military Street Bridge now open

Port Huron City Manager James Freed said the Military Street Bridge is now fixed and open to traffic.

Freed said the bridge is fixed for the long-term duration after nearly 20 engineers worked on it all day.

Freed said it was determined during a meeting with engineers Wednesday morning that bridge tenders could operate the bridge manually without harming it until fixed.

The Military Street Bridge is owned by the state.

As of near 7 p.m. Wednesday night Freed said the bridge is completely operational and can open automatically now — manual operation is no longer needed.

While previously he had anticipated the bridge to open to traffic by 11:30 a.m., Freed said crews were still make adjustments to the bridge throughout the day.

Jim Petronski, Michigan Department of Transportation engineer, said those involved with the design of the Port Huron bridge both during its revamp 20 years ago and earlier this year were present for Wednesday morning’s meeting.

He said the bridge was not opening and closing properly.

MDOT vehicles lined the north side of the bridge, as the engineers met in the bridge tower this morning.

The bridge that crosses the Black River was closed for several days last week, reopened for a short period, and closed again Sunday.

The bridge was closed for three months at the beginning of the year, and for a few days in late May. The extended closure that started in January was part of a $2.8 million project that included improvements to the M-29 drawbridge over the Pine River in St. Clair.

Kristen DeWitte works at both Kate’s downtown, north of the bridge, and the Raven Cafe, which is south of the bridge.

She said the closure of the bridge has split the downtown and its obstruction to motorists has been noticed at the businesses.

“I don’t know why they can’t get on it and fix it,” DeWitte said. “I understand things happen, but I wish the city would get more on top of getting it fixed...If they’d be more upfront with the public about what’s going on — that would be really cool.”

Emily Herbert of Fort Gratiot came to downtown this morning for a haircut and a stop at Kate’s Downtown. She said the bridge closure, along with other road work, makes coming to the business district “inconvenient.”

Check back for updates.