2/11/10 - Dexter Township officials held a public information meeting Wednesday night to present citizens with details regarding the upcoming replacement of the Dexter-Pinckney Road Bridge. The existing bridge is almost 90 years old and is so deteriorated that it cannot provide weight support for larger vehicles. The new bridge will be 27 feet longer and feature wider lanes, usable shoulders, and proper guardrails. Construction will begin early next month, and should be completed sometime in August. Traffic across the bridge will be closed for the duration of the project, and the 7.5-mile detour around the construction will stretch north all the way to M-36. Residents living near the bridge were unhappy to learn that access between Portage Lake and Little Portage Lake could be shut down by construction for periods lasting as long as a day. Washtenaw County Road Commission Engineering Supervisor Aaron Berkholz led last night's meeting, and according to him the issue of where to store and park the project's machinery is still in the process of being solved. Road Commission officials are attempting to schedule a pre-construction meeting with the contracting company responsible for the project for sometime late next week. (TD)