HAVEN ROAD BRIDGE

I was sorry to learn that the recently closed Albion Road bridge in Concord Township will take three to five years to replace due to a lack of funds. That bridge is located on the main throughfare between Albion and Concord and is heavily used. This is the time for Concord's representatives in the Michigan legislature to heavily lobby for emergency help and funding wherever they can get it. I hope they are "on this," and I wish them a speedy success.

Meanwhile, up the road several miles, work is progressing this year on the reconstruction and repaving of Haven Road in Albion, along with the adjacent River Street. As part of the project the bridge over the Kalamazoo River by the Victory Park waterfall is also being refurbished. Much of this involves replacing deteriorated portions of the deck, and the sidewalks on each side. Most of the work has already been completed.

This bridge isn't that old. It was only constructed in 1979 to replace an older one. This 1979 one really did need to be refurbished, however. It has endured years of being weather beaten and was subjected to annual road salt applications which rusted the metal rods and deteriorate the concrete itself.

Back then, it was a common practice to place a bronze plaque on newly constructed bridges, giving a date and the names of local officials who were in office at the time the structure was erected. I recently went to the bridge, and found such a plaque. Note: Lest you be confused: Plaque has double meaning, but is spelled the same. It is also what the dentist removes from your teeth during your semi-annual cleaning.

From our Historical Notebook this week we present a photo of the small plaque which appears twice: on the northwest and southeast side railings of the bridge. Both state in all capital lettering: "City of Albion, City Council, Charles W. Jones, Mayor. Robert Thomas, Ronald Gant, Jack McClure, France Constianes, James Cascarelli, Karen Harris. City Manager Lee Davis. Director of Public Works William Rieger. 1979."

Unfortunately, you must bend over a bit in order to read these plaques, but they are still there for your historical information. How many of our readers remember these persons on the Albion City Council back in 1979?

	Frank Passic — Albion Historian An Albion native and 1971 graduate of Albion High School, Frank Passic has been researching and writing Albion history since 1976. He is the creator of the Albion Historical Notebook, with hundreds of articles appearing weekly in the Morning Star and The Recorder. Frank maintains an extensive personal archive including Riverside Cemetery records, family surname files, genealogies, photographs, city directories, and high school yearbooks. Support his 2026 research at the Historic Albion Michigan Facebook page. Historical Notebook \| From the Archives \| Subject List \| 100 Years Ago \| Alphabetical Index \| Frank Passic Home Page \| Albion History Books \| Contact Frank
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	AlbionMich.net — General Guide to Albion AlbionMich.net is a hub for community life in the greater Albion area, featuring current news, city council updates, river restoration stories, parks and trails. See Albion's beautiful Kalamazoo River waterfall as it looks today — and follow the story of its future restoration. Includes news from The Recorder and stories about Albion's 17 parks. AlbionMich.net \| Albion Blog \| Frank Passic on AlbionMich.net
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	Robin James — Indices Unlimited Robin James is the editor of the Albion Historical Notebook and has kept Frank Passic's thousands of articles organized and searchable for decades. A trained librarian and archivist, Robin specializes in back-of-book and online indexing, multimedia collection management, and corporate information distribution. He also enjoys strange music and is a contributing editor for Igloo electronic music magazine. For more about his indexing services, visit Indices Unlimited.
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