Covered bridge project bid over budget

Bids for the most comprehensive overhaul of a St. Joseph County icon have come in about $400,000 more than budgeted.

St. Joseph County Road Commission Manager John Lindsey and engineer Garrett Myland said the Centreville-based agency budgeted $2.8 million for refurbishing the Langley Covered Bridge. The low bid, though, was more than $3.2 million.

At the moment, the road commission is on the hook for more than $1 million of the $3.2 million total cost. It has, however, set aside about $675,000 in its current budget for the project, agency officials said.

The project was awarded to Grand Haven-based Anlaan Corporation, which was the general contractor of the last major bridge work, conducted in 2008.

Myland and Lindsey said company officials are in the midst of putting together plans and a start date has not yet been identified. Nonetheless, they are optimistic all work will be completed within calendar year 2023.

The 282-foot-long bridge, which straddles the St. Joseph River, is crossed by an average of more than 2,000 vehicles daily.

Angevine Road, a mile east of Covered Bridge Road, will be the recommended detour. Myland said a considerable stretch of Angevine Road was resurfaced last year in advance of the additional traffic it will carry while the covered bridge is closed – a period of time measured by months, not weeks.