U. S. Army Corps could decide fate of bridge

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The former Pere Marquette Railroad bridge in downtown Port Huron was the subject of a meeting held Wednesday by the Detroit District of the Army Corps of Engineers. Representatives from the U. S. Army Corps, Port Huron Yacht Club, State Historic Preservation Office, and local preservationists met to discuss a pending demolition permit for the structure at the mouth of the Black River. “The State Historic Preservation Office and Army Corps gave us a good deal of hope and helped us to live another day,” said T.J. Gaffney of the Friends of the Pere Marquette Bridge organization. According to Gaffney, no decision was made during Wednesday’s meeting with the Army Corps requesting additional information from the Port Huron Yacht Club. “We are cautiously optimistic about what happened today,” added Gaffney.  The property in which the former railroad bridge lies was purchased by the yacht club in 2012. Requests for comment from the Port Huron Yacht Club were not immediately returned.

ORIGINAL STORY:

A long unused railroad bridge at the mouth of the Black River in Port Huron will be the subject of a meeting held by the Detroit District of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Wednesday. The Pere Marquette train bridge, located on property purchased by the Port Huron Yacht Club in 2012, has been at the center of a debate between preservationists and the yacht club over whether or not it should be removed. The yacht club has applied for a demolition permit for the bridge, with the permit subsequently being challenged by the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office. In a letter to the Army Corps, the historic preservation office says few bridges of it’s type remain. Due to the fact that the bridge is over a navigable waterway, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers will have the final say on whether or not the yacht club will ultimately be issued a demolition permit.