KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — The Inkster Avenue bridge over Bronson Boulevard in Kalamazoo has reopened after being closed for three years.
The reopening was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday morning. The new $1.6 million concrete span is wide enough for two lanes and an 8-foot sidewalk.
The old bridge was closed to vehicle traffic in May 2021 after it was deemed unsafe.
Former City Commissioner Alexander Lipsey said leaders had no idea when the previous bridge was built in 1989 that it would become such a major connector for the Westnedge Hill neighborhood.
“We didn’t realize that this bridge serves as a major artery for this particular community,” Lipsey said. “This is kind of the lifeline. And our thought was that was just a bridge that was going to be mostly used by pedestrians, which in fact, pedestrians use it, but the community needs it for all kinds of vehicular traffic, etc., and so the bridge that was constructed was simply not adequate.”