The Baldwin Street bridge that crosses the Muskegon River has been closed for months and is not expected to be completed until summer 2016.
Alek Swiercz, a manufacturing engineer student at Ferris, said the bridge closing has significantly increased the time he spends commuting to school from his Tioga Park apartment.
“During certain times of the day, like for my 8 a.m. class, it takes almost 20 minutes to get to school,” Swiercz said. “It’s the same from 3-6 p.m. It should not take 20 minutes to travel 2-3 miles. For my 8 a.m. class, I have to leave before 7:30 because I don’t even get onto the main road because traffic is so backed up.”
Businesses are being impacted by the bridge closing as well. According to Yer Xiong, the manager of the Gypsy Nickel Lounge, some customers don’t realize the business is still open due to its proximity to the bridge.
“Customers are still finding their way to our establishment but seem to be having a harder time getting around the detour,” Xiong said. “The biggest obstacle has been getting the word out that we are still open for business despite the road closure. We have launched a whole new line of daily specials in order to persuade customers to come the long way around.”
People headed to the northeast side of town now travel across the Maple Street bridge and then up North Fourth Avenue. Swiercz said that, due to the construction, there is a speed trap on North Fourth Avenue that is heavily monitored by police officers.
“If you go a couple miles over the speed limit, you get pulled over,” said Swiercz. “There’s no way to avoid it. It’s the only way in and out of the Tioga Park apartments now that the bridge is out.”