SLT officials hope to close gap in funding bridge work

Spring Lake Township officials are hoping to close the only gap in the 12-mile bike path around Spring Lake. But they'll need significant financial assistance to make it happen. Township Manager Gordon Gallagher said Ottawa County representatives estimate the cost for adding a separated bike path to the Jerusalem Bayou Bridge will top $1 million. Gallagher said the hope is to add an 8-foot-wide pedestrian and bike path when the Ottawa County Road Commission redecks the bridge in 2012.

Marie Havenga

May 11, 2011

The 225-foot long bridge is on West Spring Lake Road, just south of Highland Drive and north of Hickory Street.

Because of slopes on both the north and south sides, vehicular traffic picks up speed and creates unsafe conditions for pedestrians, according to Gallagher and several board members.

“It’s a super-dangerous situation,” Township Supervisor John Nash said. “Because of the steep banks on both sides, people go faster without thinking about it and you’ve got a bottleneck bridge. West Spring Lake Road was recently paved, which also makes people go faster. I’ll lay on the bridge before I let them do the (redecking) project without a bike path.”

To read more of this story, see today’s print edition of the Grand Haven Tribune.