ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Although its vehicle bridge has been removed, Ann Arborites can still access the trails and playgrounds at Gallup Park.
On February 12, the crew demolished the park’s wooden bridge connecting the two halves of Gallup Park Road. The bridge had previously been closed to cars, but open to visitors using it to walk around Huron River. Due to public safety concerns, it was closed to all traffic and quickly removed.
Recommended Videos
“The early closure and demolition of the bridge was very unfortunate for all the community members who rely on it, including Huron High School students. Losing the bridge has created challenges for how to move forward with completing the new bridge and maintaining park operations until access is restored,” city officials said in a notice.
“The City is exploring all options to restore the bridge crossing as quickly as possible and even investigated installing a temporary bridge, which unfortunately was not financially feasible.”
Currently, there is no bridge access to the southern side of Gallup Park, parking lots on that side of the river and the Universal Access Playground and pavilions.
Here’s how visitors can reach the southern side of the park:
- via Devonshire Park on Geddess Avenue
- via the Border to Border trail at Dixboro Dam
- through Mitchell Field
- by the Gallup Park Pathway from the Gallup Park boat launch parking lot on Geddes Road
Officials said now that demolition of the old bridge is complete, the construction of a new bridge east of the current location would go much quicker.
The Border to Border Trail is open in the park and a short detour has been created near the new bridge’s construction area. around the construction site for the new bridge, according to a city notice.
Although vehicles cannot go to the southern side, cars can still be parked in the lot near the Fuller Rod entrance or the lot off Geddes Road.