ADRIAN — Construction on the U.S. 223 railroad bridge east of Division Street is expected to last until spring, Adrian City Commissioner Mary Roberts said.

Roberts recently attended a meeting between the Michigan Department of Transportation and representatives of local communities. She reported on the U.S. 223 bridge project and other items at the Dec. 1 city commission meeting.

The bridge has been reduced to one lane of traffic since September. The repair work is taking much longer than originally expected.

“They ran into massive amounts of damage that they just didn’t know about until they got into the undercarriage of the bridge,” Roberts said.

Additional news from MDOT:

• Changes are being planned for the intersection of Front and Broad streets in downtown Adrian. Roberts said the concrete island in the middle of the intersection will be removed, and there will be a permanent right turn lane going south on Broad Street for traffic turning west on Front Street. A stop sign will be installed for traffic going north on Broad Street.
• On the south side of Adrian, a left turn lane will be installed for traffic turning from Division Street onto U.S. 223. 
• The section of Church Street downtown that is under MDOT’s jurisdiction will be resurfaced within the next few years. Church Street between Broad and Main is part of M-52.
• Roberts also mentioned that MDOT has battery backups on the stoplights at some of their busiest intersections, including U.S. 12 and M-52, U.S. 12 and M-50, and M-52 and M-50. These battery backups are able to keep the lights working for up to 12 hours when there is a power outage.