If all goes as planned, phase two of a project to paint parts of the High Street railroad bridge in Mt. Pleasant will be completed this summer, possibly even in June.
Mt. Pleasant resident Keith Feight and his son Kurt led an effort to raise money to paint the bridge in 2013, including adding the words “Welcome to Mt. Pleasant” on the side of the railroad viaduct that spans High Street as motorists enter the city from the west.
This year, Keith Feight is working on phase two of the project, which will involve painting the concrete abutments and pump station.
City engineer Stacie Tewari said the city received the necessary permit from the Michigan Department of Transportation’s local Transportation Service Center, but MDOT’s rail division also wanted a maintenance agreement.
That agreement is now ready and is expected to be on the agenda for the Mt. Pleasant City Commission to approve it at its June 11 meeting.
Assuming it is approved, Tewari said work on the bridge could begin shortly afterward, possibly the third week of June.
Percha Paint will be doing the painting.
Feight’s overall goal is to raise $50,000. He’s been working on raising funds for phase two since last October.
That would be enough money to fund the painting, take care of future maintenance needs, and help fund other projects Feight has in mind, including possibly sprucing up the entrance to the city on the north side, near the roundabout on Mission that leads to U.S. 127.
The original project got started when Feight noticed how bad the railroad viaduct looked. It was a classic “Somebody should do something about that” moment, he said, and he decided that that “somebody” might as well be him.
That project drastically improved the look of the bridge.
“I still hear comments about how nice it looks,” he said.
But after the first project got done, he couldn’t help but notice the abutments. Last year, Feight decided to get started on that, hence phase two.
Donations may be made to the Mt. Pleasant Area Community Foundation for the “Paint the High Street Bridge” fund.