JACKSON, Mich. — A major mid-Michigan bridge that stretches over I-94 in Jackson is back open.
The Cooper Street bridge is part of the $109 million-dollar construction project that began last summer.
"I'm so glad it's open," Susan Smar said.
Smar has been waiting for Cooper bridge to reopen since construction began months ago.
"Be able to get to Highland a lot easier cause I work there through the summer and all summer I had to depend on rides," Smar said.
The MDOT I-94 project has been going on since the summer of 2018.
"We have been in the middle of the construction for the past year and it is really great for the road to finally be open. It's going to make it a lot easier to get to our shop, a lot easier to get out on the road to do our work," Brian Penn, who works at Meekof Tire, said.
Other local businesses didn't want to speak on camera, but say that since the road has been closed, it's been really tough on their business. MDOT said that the project is currently 60% complete.
The Cooper bridge now has two new roundabouts on each side, and MDOT said this will allow traffic to operate more smoothly.
"It will slow traffic down because people will come down the bridge before going way too fast," Penn said.
"You know, we used to drive there at 45 and now we're going to have to slow down to go through a roundabout," Jeff Byicraft, who lives in Jackson, said. "I don't know, I'm not a big fan of roundabouts, not normally, but we'll see how it works."
MDOT is reminding drivers to be careful when entering a roundabout and to yield to traffic and pedestrians already inside and said the full construction project is expected to be finished by this coming spring.
Want to see more local news ? Visit the FOX47News Website.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Download our free app for Appleand Android
and
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.
Select from these options: Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines and Daily Forecasts.
