US-23 projects aim to enhance pedestrian travel

The Oscoda Press carries this article on the expansion of the pedestrian walkways and bicycle path -- all planned for completion this summer:

Pedestrians will be the ultimate winners of two US-23 corridor construction projects scheduled this year in AuSable Township: rehabilitation of a bridge and extension of a walkway. Once complete, the mouth of the AuSable River will be linked to the Oscoda business district by an unbroken pedestrian/bicycle path.

The US-23 bridge project is tentatively scheduled to start on April 18. If all goes as planned, work will be completed prior to July 29, with crews to suspend construction on holiday weekends. From the river, crews will replace the pins and hangers which form the joints. The bridge steel will be painted ‘harbor blue' to blend in better with the environment. The existing bridge rails will be replaced with four-foot high see-through ornamental aluminum fencing, also painted ‘harbor blue.' This will be more aesthetically pleasing than the existing rails, the engineer said. The most substantial change will be the creation of a six to eight-foot walkway on the east side of the bridge and approaches, to be separated from traffic lanes by a 3½-foot high aluminum rail.

The second project is being undertaken by AuSable Township and will join the existing US-23 walkway to the sidewalk system in neighboring Oscoda Township. Work on the 600-foot extension is expected to begin once frost is out of the ground.