• The 60-year-old Van Atta Bridge's

UPDATE: MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Van Atta Road is bridging troubled water, literally. But the water has even been troubling the bridge itself.

The old Van Atta bridge located one mile south of Grand River will soon be replaced. The dangerous one lane bridge has reached its final days and there are now plans to rebuild the deteriorated structure resting on the eroding bed. Construction will begin in or around January 2014 and will be closed to through traffic until around May of 2014.

"It's 60 years old, it's catastrophically unsafe, it's got bad girders, the road bed is broken through in places so the bridge had to be replaced, it's one of the highest priority bridges in the state for getting replaced," says Vice Chair of Planning for Meridian Township, Tom Deits

The estimated cost of the project is $1 million and is funded by the state and federally funded Bridge Program with a 5% match by the Ingham County Department of Transportation & Roads. Additional plans for a separate non-motorized path on the side of Van Atta are not part of this project, however Meridian Township is planning one for the future.

ORIGINAL STORY: MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Construction for the $1 Million Van Atta bridge begins January of 2014