GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (GRAND HAVEN TRIBUNE) - The catwalk is coming along with an expected completion date of May 1, and installation on the pier will follow in the summer.
Turrell, who spearheaded the fundraising campaign to bring the catwalk back to the recently resurfaced pier, has seen her first glimpse of the finished product — several of the 56 bents that are being welded to replicate the old structure. What has been a long process is finally closing in on the finish line, she said.
“It’s finally coming to closure with all of the hard work that’s gone into it,” she said. “We’re all ready to have her back up.”
Grand Haven City Manager Pat McGinnis said the catwalk installation should be completed before this summer’s Coast Guard Festival. The King Co. engineering firm removed the original structure in 2016, and it will be responsible for hoisting the new one into place using a barge crane.
Installation will begin at the foghouse end of the pier, placed in segments and worked back toward shore to match the original’s path.
Most of the work is being done by welders at the Eagle Group in Greenville, where Turrell, McGinnis and City Councilman Bob Monetza recently visited to take a look at the progress.
Three types of bents — arches that support the catwalk — are being fabricated, while an original of each type will be placed back on the pier. As for the remainder of the original bents, officials are planning to use some of them to create a wayfinding system for the city.
It was determined in 2016 that the catwalk could not be left on the pier during a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reconstruction project. After its removal, the Save the Catwalk committee was formed to raise $1 million for the project.
The pier was reopened in August 2018, and smooth concrete now extends to the lighthouse, with ramps to allow for bicycles, Rollerblades and wheelchairs to make the full journey.
Turrell, who led the catwalk committee, said the community’s patience for the project is paying off.
“The length of time it’s taken us to get this absolutely right is very important, because we don’t want to have to redo any of this in the future,” she said. “We want it to be right when she’s set back up. There is a light at the end of this tunnel.”
Officials have suggested a community celebration may be in order when the project is completed this summer.
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