By Scott Sullivan
Editor
Douglas City Council Monday approved spending $285,337 for water main, sewer and surface restoration on now-closed Ferry Street.
That will cover Douglas’s sole responsibility in the two-pronged project to reopen the key north-south link to homes and tourist attraction laying in neighbor Saugatuck.
The cost for drain culvert replacement — including private utility relocation, temporary cofferdam, stormwater bypass, new culvert plus road and guardrail replacement — will be broken down as part of a to-be-determined Allegan County Drain Commission assessment, Nocerini said.
Douglas closed Ferry where it crosses the Warnock Drain between West Shore Drive and Campbell Street Aug. 2 after a sinkhole appeared nearby, prompting other safety and structural concerns.
Northbound traffic was and remains redirected west on Center, north on narrow, two-lane Lakeshore Drive, then east on Campbell, the border road between Douglas and Saugatuck cities, until heading north again on what in Saugatuck becomes Park Street.
Southbound traffic is detoured the other way.
Douglas’s water main and sewer work covered by the $285K, noted Nocerini, will not in itself be enough to reopen Ferry.
But is critical to ensure the long-term functionality and integrity of the full infrastructure, she said.
Given the urgency of reopening Ferry before tourist season, council agreed to amend this year’s budget to get repairs started,
The city will draw on its Local Streets-General Streets and ROW, Repairs and General Maintenance budget section, Nocerini said.
