City of Portage, Michigan – June 2001 – The Portage Creek Bicentennial Park Trail has been a highly popular recreational amenity in the City of Portage for more than 15 years. The 12-foot wide paved trail is more than 3.6 miles in length and previously had a northern terminus at East Milham Avenue, a heavily-traveled, four-lane roadway running east-west across the City. In 1998, the City Administration began planning for the widening of East Milham Avenue to five lanes to accommodate increased traffic demands. The roadway carries an average of 16,000 vehicles per day and is an important link in the City's major roadway network.

The challenge of providing a safe, non-motorized crossing of East Milham Avenue was complicated by the restriction of available right-of-way, wetlands, floodplain, and poor soil conditions. After the Portage Department of Transportation and Utilities analyzed various options, the City Administration decided upon the construction of a pedestrian overpass consisting of a pre-engineered steel structure and subsequent embankment on each side of the roadway to provide the structure with adequate roadway clearance.

The completed design of the structure incorporated design and color features of the adjacent business/office park and also blended with the natural environment of the Portage Creek Bicentennial Park setting. Excellent use was made of precast concrete masonry retaining wall segments to minimize embankment and wetlands encroachment, as well as to provide attractive serpentine landscape areas. The stepped-back segmental retaining wall, which utilized two tiers of walls, provided a landscaped buffer and also minimized the appearance of the 16-foot underclearance. The retaining walls also added texture and color to the project.

A metal roof was designed as part of the structure to promote all-weather use of the trail and protect the structure from the Midwestern snow and ice. The bridge is 12 feet in width to accommodate safe, two-way, non-motorized trail use and light vehicles for maintenance operations. To promote security, trail lighting, structure lighting, and accent lighting were included into the project. Softening the appearance of the bridge was accomplished by planting more than 500 trees, decorative plantings, shrubs, and native grasses. To provide security for trail users, a video monitoring system with four cameras was installed and unobtrusively blended into the structure design.

The structure has proven to be a very popular attraction to the trail, with trail users coming from other areas specifically to use the trail and pedestrian overpass. The overpass has also been positively received by motorists using Milham Avenue and the surrounding emerging business/office community.

Managing Agency -- City of Portage, Michigan
Primary Consultant -- Moore & Bruggink, Inc. Consulting Engineers
Primary Contractor -- Robert Bailey Contractors, Inc.
Nominated by -- Michigan Chapter

Home • More News