The Cut River Bridge on US-2 will be reopened this fall, before the opening day of deer hunting season November 15, and US-2 will remain open to traffic until renovation work resumes on the bridge next spring, said Pete Paramski, a construction engineer with the state highway department. Mr. Paramski is an engineer for Mackinac, Chippewa, and Luce counties and works in the Newberry office.

Deck replacement work that was planned to be completed this summer took longer than anticipated, with a detour in effect for most of the summer, and the project will resume as soon as weight restrictions are taken off the road next spring, probably in late April, Mr. Paramski said. He anticipates work on the Cut River Bridge will continue until September 2009, with a detour in effect next summer.

"We will reopen the existing bridge in better condition this fall than when we closed it in the spring," Mr. Paramski told The St. Ignace News September 19. "The more we can get done on the bridge this fall, the less we will have to inconvenience people next summer."

October 17 is the tentative date planned for ending the project, but if weather is favorable, it may continue to early November.

"The detour absolutely will be taken off by the opening day of deer season," Mr. Paramski said.

The $1.8 million bridge project began in May and was scheduled to be completed by October, but Michigan Department of Transportation reported it had to recalculate the weight loads of construction materials and equipment on the bridge, delaying the project in July.

The bridge was built in 1947. Work includes replacing the steel deck superstructure, upgrading guardrails, and paving the east and west approaches to the bridge. The sandstone portions of the bridge also will be repaired, along with the walking path that leads from the bridge to the Cut River and Lake Michigan below.