Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Culvert topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Engineers outline culvert damage under Ferry Street as closure disrupts transit and local businesses
Summary
On Aug. 12 the Saugatuck City Council heard engineers describe a decades-old culvert beneath Ferry Street with a 1-by-2-foot hole in a 36" pipe; investigations and design work are underway but no repair timeline was given. Local transit and Douglas officials described operational impacts from the closure.
Engineers from Prein & Newhof told the Saugatuck City Council on Aug. 12 that a culvert beneath Ferry Street is likely more than 70 years old and has suffered structural damage that prompted the street closure and ongoing investigations.
Lucas Timmer and Ken Bosma, civil engineers with Prein & Newhof, reported that soils under the culvert are primarily muck down 30–40 feet and that crews found a roughly 1-foot by 2-foot hole in an otherwise 36-inch culvert. They said a ductile-iron sanitary sewer (18 inches) installed in 1977 lies beneath the culvert and a 12-inch water main is located above it. The engineers described current activities as dive-team and ROV investigation, replacement design, and research into permits and funding; they did not supply a repair timetable or completion estimate.
Public commenters described practical effects of the closure. Becky Carten-Crandell, director of the Interurban Transit Authority, told the council the Ferry Street closure has affected the authority’s operations and routing. Lisa Nocerini, city manager for Douglas, and several local business owners and residents urged coordination between Saugatuck and Douglas to limit disruption to transit riders, events and businesses.
Councilmember Dean characterized the situation as a substantial public-safety concern and urged continued coordinated engagement between the two cities. Council materials indicate engineers are pursuing design options and permitting but did not identify funding sources or deadlines.
Next steps: the engineering team will continue subsurface investigation, advance replacement design and report back to council as permitting and funding work proceeds. The council did not vote on immediate repairs at the meeting.
