New bridge to be built over St. Marys River

Another bridge will soon span part of the St. Marys River and it's going to be good for the environment and local fishing, say U.S. officials.

Construction will begin next year on the 625-foot bridge, which is expected to help restore the river’s water flow and produce 50-70 acres of fish spawning habitat.

The bridge replaces two failing culverts that are part of the Sugar Island causeway.

The causeway leads from the ferry dock at what is known as Island No. 1, to Sugar Island itself, crossing through a set of rapids known as Little Rapids.

The culverts being replaced were installed around 1960.

The causeway, “greatly reduced the flow of water needed to maintain the rapids,” says a fact sheet on the Little Rapids Restoration Project produced by the Eastern Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Commission, which is moving forward with the project with the Chippewa County Road Commission.

“The project culminates more than two decades of restoration work on the St. Marys River and is expected to be the final action needed to formally remove the U.S. side of the river from the list of heavily degraded Areas of Concern designated under the Great Lake Water Quality Agreement with Canada,” says a release from the EUP Planning and Development Commission.

The project is funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to the tune of $9 million.

The move is also expected to be a boon to sport fishers.

"People who enjoy fishing and the river in general have been very interested in seeing this project come to fruition," said Bud Willis, president of the Soo Area Sportsmen's Club, in a release. "We're excited at the prospect of more water flowing through the rapids to provide better fish habitat and more spawning grounds for some of the Great Lakes' most prized sportfish, and we're also glad to see that public access has been taken into consideration as this project has been planned."

(PHOTO: A map shows the area affected by the Little Rapids Restoration Project. Eastern Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Commission)