The Okemos road bridge will remain under construction for just a little bit longer.
"We expect... the work necessitating the detour at this time to be completed June 20th," says Bill Conklin of the Ingham county road department.
The construction was slated to be completed by the beginning to middle of June but an inspection found two support beams were severely damaged. Crews didn't have the necessary steel to fix them, so they had to order it.
The bridge being out of commission has been a nightmare for people who live and work in the area. One woman said she doesn't go to the grocery store nearly as often as she used to before the construction, and rush hour sees crazy backups.
Meridian township is hearing about it too. Township manager, Frank Walsh, says he's gotten between 50 and 100 calls from people complaining about the project.
"There's a lot of frustrated people out there," says Walsh, "I mean thousands of people use that bridge a day."
But he doesn't blame the Ingham county road department.
"We just have to be patient," he says.
Patience will get people through this construction project, but Bill Conklin says the entire bridge will need to be replaced sometime in the next five to ten years.
Due to lack of state and federal funds, the county couldn't do a complete rebuild this time around, but they will apply for funding before the next project needs to occur.
