Wendzel secures $800,000 for bridge replacement in Van Buren County

A failing bridge in Van Buren County will be replaced next year thanks to a state allocation of $800,000 for the Van Buren County Road Commission.

Commission Managing Director Bret Witkowski tells us the bridge carrying County Road 657 over the East Branch of the Paw Paw River in Antwerp Township, near Mattawan, has been identified as structurally deficient.

“Our staff had discovered the bridge was failing,” Witkowski said. “They brought in bridge experts to look at it, and I think we could fix it for $500,000 or replace it for $800,000. So our goal here is not to leave the next generation with the liability.”

Witkowski says the problem here was that the bridge doesn’t qualify for federal funding because it’s just a few inches short of 20 feet. Therefore, it was looking like the road commission was going to have to take the money for a replacement out of its budget. That’s when the office of state Representative Pauline Wendzel got involved.

“The representative invited me up to testify in front of the House Appropriation Committee last Wednesday. That went well, and we were very thankful then last night that the House — I think it was around 9:30 or 10 — the House voted as part of the funding for the next fiscal year, starting in October, to replace that bridge. So we’re beyond thankful.”

Formal letters of support for the bridge replacement were submitted by the Van Buren County Board of Commissioners, Sheriff Dan Abbott, the Lawton Fire Department, the village of Mattawan, and the Van Buren Intermediate School District.

Wendzel says she was glad to take the fight over this bridge to Lansing because the people of Antwerp Township depend on it.