Michigan Officials Say Covered Wooden Bridge Could Cost $850K to Rebuild

Officials say it could cost $850,000 or more to rebuild after a fire destroyed one of Michigan’s oldest covered wooden bridges.

The Grand Rapids Press reports, however, there’s a slim chance that a replacement for the Whites Bridge would come soon.

Dorothy Pohl, managing director of the Ionia County Road Commission, says she doesn’t know where officials would get money to rebuild. She says the county already had roughly 15 bridges that needed repairs.

Investigators say it could be weeks before they officially determine the cause of the early Sunday fire. The sheriff’s department has said it was arson. A criminal investigation is ongoing.

The bridge was built in the late 1860s. It crossed the Flat River in Ionia County’s Keene Township, about 15 miles east of Grand Rapids.