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Blue Star Highway bridge articles

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Article from the 25 Feb and 4 March 1982 Commercial Record by Wayne Weed. Mr. Weed recounts his memories of building the Kalamazoo River bridge at US-31 in 1936. One section of the article is laminated, other parts are photocopies. "Bridge safety under scrutiny" Holland Sentinel, undated, but lists winning lottery numbers for Aug. 2, 2007 on other side. Article about how the Blue Star Highway bridge was ranked the worst bridge in The Sentinel area, according to the 2005 National Bridge Inventory released by the Federal Highway Administration.
part 1; The Making of the Blue Star Bridge Provided Big Boost to Area Workers by Wayne Weed (Ed. note: As the renovation of the Blue Star Highway bridge over the Kalamazoo River nears, we are indebted to one of the men who worked on the existing structure for a personal view of what it was like, late in the Depression, on the biggest job for miles around.) It was no doubt inevitable that some day the old swing bridge and its companion, the stationary bridge at the other end of a willow-shaded causeway, would be replaced. The first bridges between the villages were said to have been built about 1869 with the swing bridge installed at a later date in 1903. They were well-suited to the needs of their day. In only a few decades, however, the river commerce of former years had disappeared. No longer was it necessary to offer clearance to steamers that could make their way up the Kalamazoo as far as Allegan. As the years progressed, small motor craft of varying types would become the rule upon the river. There are probably those who remember approaching the river at a time some boat came into view that would require an opening of the swing bridge. Volunteers would often go on the bridge as the barriers dropped to assist the bridge tender. Everyone then pushed,
part 2; in treadmill fashion, on the long crossbar atop a center post that would turn the gears below for opening and closing. It was a marvel that this mechanism worked as well as it did, although there were a few occasions when the old bridge was stuck briefly, to the confusion of impatient travelers. In September of 1936, work began on a new U.S. 31 bridge with plans for a permanent structure to be placed immediately to the south of the existing swing bridge. This would be an important unit in a relocation of U.S. 31, designed to bypass the business sections of both Saugatuck and Douglas. Long, sweeping curves, filled and graded, would eventually join the bridge at each end of the river crossing. Preliminary work had entailed the building of a long fill across a bayou to the east of the river, a task accomplished by the Lyons Marine Construction Company of White-hall. To pump material to the new grade, its powerful twin turbines, operating from a sandsucker barge, removed most of a small island from Kalamazoo Lake. This route would be known in later years as the Blue Star Highway. Never was a work project more welcome than in the fall and winter when this one was started. These were the years of the Great Depression, and news that a local contractor, L.W. Lamb Company, would build the new bridge was especially heartening. Mr. Lamb's original home was in the small farming community of Ganges. As a young man he had entered the University of Michigan and later graduated with an engineering degree and an education that he would apply to a business of his own. Now, a contract for a modem 485-foot bridge presented a challenge that was well-matched by the zeal and confidence of the young contractor. Men came looking for work from both villages and the outlying township as well as from Laketown and Ganges. The country boys who knew Larry were hop- part 3; ing he would not forget them in a winter when work was scarce. Indeed they were not forgotten. Those from the Ganges area were seldom turned away. This writer was among the latter. I recall the day I approached Ray Anderson, a foreman at the bridge site, to ask for a job. He looked me over for a moment, then pointed to a stack of kegs nearby. part 4; ... the job of boiler operator. Frank was a inveterate angler in all seasons with seemingly little time for any other profession. It was doubtful that he knew anything about boilers, but he would have his chance ... ly a short time after his debut as a part 5 Blue Star Highway bridge articles picture number 6

2025.01.18

Transportation: highway and road infrastructure

Winthers, Sally

137 Transportation on Land

Bridge, Blue Star Highway 1936Weed, Wayne Dixon 1905-1996Lamb, Lawrence William 1895-1974

05/07/2025

05/17/2025