Stakeholders who announced back in December proposed bridgework to replace the Crystal River’s aging culverts and restore the waterway’s natural flow say the first crossing could be started and completed as early as spring of 2023.

The steal bridge close to M-22 could be constructed as early as spring of 2023/24; the two other timber bridges could be completed as early as the fall of 2023 and the fall of 2024 respectively, shares DJ Shook, biologist and project manager with the Conservation Resource Alliance, one of the entities collaborating on the project. The culvert systems that currently direct the water under the road are gradually crumbling, causing a risk for sink holes and potentially endangering drivers, aquatic life, and paddlers. Brendan Mullane, managing director for the Leelanau County Road Commission has shared that the roadway is not in imminent danger of collapse, “but the problem needs to be addressed now.”

Shook notes that the updated crossings will require instream work as well as road closures and, big picture, will restore and improve the resiliency of the Crystal River. “The project partners are working to minimize the disturbance while restoring the river functions that are impaired by the undersized and failing stream crossings,” he says. 

All four crossings are on County Road 675.

The project will likely kick off at the crossing closest to Tucker Lake (the Tucker Lake outlet) says Brett Fessell, river restoration ecologist with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. He notes that the project partners will work with the road commission, National Park Service, and liveries to make sure people are safely routed. “The goal is to try to get the work done during the parts of the year when there is less traffic both on the road and on the river.”

Mullane notes that the bridge and culvert work must go through a permitting process under Michigan’s Department of Energy, Great Lakes and Environment (EGLE) while meeting the requirements of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and other funders. Woven into the timing: working with local biologists to create the least impact on the fishery.

Shook tells the Leelanau Ticker that an estimated $5M will be needed to complete the project. Adds Fessell, “We are 99 percent done with all engineering design plans, and once finalized, will put all of the crossings out for bid this summer.”

Entities working together to fund the project include: the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Conservation Resource Alliance, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the Leelanau County Road Commission, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Also consulting on the project are local firms Grand Traverse Engineering & Construction and Gosling Czubak Engineering. Shook notes that the project team has also been in conversations with the members of the Glen Lake Association and appreciates their input.

Mullane and other stakeholders say this is an opportunity to work together to solve issues surrounding safety, stream connectivity, and fish passage. The current undersized culvert systems are restricting stream flows and create a barrier to fish, wildlife, and paddlers (as anyone who has unsuccessfully tried to “shoot the tube” directly through the culvert in a canoe or kayak can attest!).

A new concrete and steel structure will replace the culverts under County Road 675 closest to M-22, and newly installed classic timber bridges will leave plenty of headroom for paddlers. Jason Kimbrough, district conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) says in addition to being built to NRCS standards, “the timber bridges complement the river and our northern Michigan atmosphere.”

Ultimately, the goal is to restore a more natural flow to the Crystal River, says Fessell, noting that the “crossing in place now has been causing insidious destruction in the way it moves water, sediment, and organisms.” Kimbrough adds, “This is an opportunity to go back and fix these things which were installed incorrectly, but they have been there so long folks think that is how it should be.”

Fessell notes that water now shoots through the metal tubes “like a firehose coming out the other side. That is not the way a stream normally functions — this is a big manmade problem that hinders all kinds of species that use stream corridors to travel or live in.” This includes riverine critters that now need to go up and over the road, such as otter, mink, and turtles.

He describes the reconnection of the river put in place by the new infrastructure: “Instead shoving it through soda straws at high velocity, it will be as though the road doesn’t exist. The river can flow unhindered under that bridge. On the people side of things, we are fixing the road infrastructure and contributing to recreational benefits. Instead of having to portage over the road, people can float right through.”

He adds, “The more connected rivers are, the more resilient and healthy they can be.”

All told, things may look slightly different as the Crystal eventually re-establishes its natural flow and pathways throughout the watershed. In addition, streamside areas will be re-planted with native vegetation.

“We can’t answer exactly what the channel going to look like for kayakers and canoers, what we can say as the river re-establishes an equilibrium is to trust this is the right thing to do for the long haul, for the next seven generations.”

Fessell, who has worked for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians in its natural resources department for 27 years, and in river restoration work for the past 20, recalls, for example, initial reactions from those at the Boardman Dam looking over some the impoundments after they were drained. “It doesn’t take long for mother nature to heal herself. One can think of the river as what we can get out of it, whether we make power from it, whether we use it to fish in, use it for recreation, or generally ask how we can use it to our advantage. It’s the opposite in Tribal culture. It’s as if that river is a relative — your grandmother or a child. Instead of thinking ‘What can I get from this relationship?’ I am fostering, loving and caring because I know this is reciprocal.”

Shook adds that the community will have an ongoing role in the success of the waterway restoration once the Crystal River project is implemented, as it “continues to keep caring for the river and watershed. With how much use the Crystal River sees each year, the community does a great job of keeping it clean and healthy.”

Editor's Note: DJ Shook, biologist and project manager with the Conservation Resource Alliance, shared a timing update with the Leelanau Ticker: The Tucker Lake outlet crossing could be completed as early as the spring of 2023, rather than fall of 2022 as previously indicated. The steal bridge close to M-22 could be constructed as early as the spring of 2023/24, the two other timber bridges could be completed as early as the fall of 2023 and the fall of 2024 respectively. The project team updated the timeline yesterday (June 28) after receiving input from the members of the Glen Lake Association. The headline has been updated to reflect this revised work timeline.

Photos by Michael Brennan, @michaeljjbrennan