UPDATE: MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - The sidewalk on the current bridge is not safe for pedestrians, especially with snow and ice.

Ray Severy, Director of Public Works and Transportation for Meridian Township, said the township closes the sidewalk during the winter.

"It's really a liability thing for the township and anybody else," he said.

The new pedestrian bridge will be 8 feet wide, twice as wide as the current sidewalk, and nearly 200 feet long. It will share the same foundation as the road bridge, saving the township money.

"There are concrete wing walls on the bridge what we will do is use those as the foundation for the pedestrian bridge so we don't have to put in a new foundation," Severy said."

The project is expected to cost the township between $350,000 and $400,000.

Within the next few weeks trees will be cut down where the new bridge will stand. It will be constructed off-site, then shipped to its location in three pieces.

The pedestrian bridge is to be completed by October.

ORIGINAL STORY: MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - A new bridge will be going up west of Okemos Road.