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'We have an emergency here': Grosse Ile bridge remains closed as Wayne County awaits permits

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Published  May 27, 2021 6:23pm EDT
Grosse Ile
FOX 2 Detroit

Grosse Ile bridge remains closed a year later

One of the two ways to get on and off Grosse Ile has been closed for a year and people are fed up.

GROSSE ILE, Mich. (FOX 2) - There is only one way on and off Grosse Ile while the free bridge to the island remains closed.

The Parkway Bridge closed in May 2020 for repairs, leaving only a toll bridge available. It's something that is not only inconvenient but also potentially dangerous.

"If a freighter is going through that bridge and there's a medical emergency and somebody on an ambulance and the average wait time is approximately 20-25 minutes, somebody could die," said Bill Heil, the president of the Grosse Ile Civic Association. "You could say in a way that we have an emergency here.

Related: Emergency work shuts down Grosse Ile free bridge

Wayne County maintains the bridge. The county said it is ready to make repairs to the bridge and piers, but it is awaiting permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

Once the permits are received, the goal is to have the work done and the bridge back open by this fall.