Officials from Washington D.C. recently visited Leelanau County to see progress on road and bridge projects in Glen Arbor. The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and Conservation Resource Alliance began replacing the culverts on County Road 675 near the township in September 2023, to help improve water flows in the Crystal River.
Winnie Stachelberg, senior advisor and infrastructure coordinator for the U.S. Department of the Interior, and Grand Traverse Band Chairwoman Sandra Witherspoon, of Charlevoix, stopped to view progress on replacement of “the tube” beneath Crystal View Road Oct. 16.
They were greeted by locals including Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Superintendent Scott Tucker, Leelanau County Road Commission Managing Director Brendan Mullane, and Grand Traverse Engineering & Construction Manager Ken Ockert. Ockert explained some aspects of the project to the outof- towners before they sat down for lunch, courtesy of the Grand Traverse Band.
“The river is flowing parallel to the Lake Michigan shoreline. It’s really low and flat. So, we’re removing the four-foot culverts and we’re spanning this whole expanse between the two historic dunes. That’s what this bridge is doing, and the whole concept of the project,” Ockert said.
This new bridge will enable more natural flows and allow canoers and kayakers to navigate the Crystal River more safely. It will also allow native fish species to move upstream and expand to new habitats and spawning areas. Ockert said the construction schedule was planned around fish life and summer tourism.
“We were having to consider trout and salmon spawning, which occurs this time of year. And we’re trying to have the disturbance be as minimal as possible during that. But also, with the tourist season, we were talking with the community. Tourist traffic really bolsters the whole of downtown Glen Arbor,” Ockert said.
So, contractors pushed back replacing “the tube” to just after Labor Day. As of mid-October, the culvert is gone. The new bridge is scheduled for installation at the end of the month and the road will be paved in the first week of November. An August press release says the road will remain closed to thru traffic until Dec. 1.
When construction started in September, the local business Crystal River Outfitters closed their kayaking trips for the season. According to the Outfitters website, they will continue offering bike rentals, wine experiences, and shopping through the fall, winter, and spring.
The Crystal River culvert replacements will take several years in total to complete. Ockert said they could not replace all four crossings at once because there are homes between them. The first crossing – the Tucker Lake outlet – was replaced last year. The last two crossings are near the intersection of Crystal View Road and M-22 and will be replaced in 2025.
Nearby signage says the project is being funded by the Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
