A section of County Road 675 outside Glen Arbor is — slowly but surely — facing the potential of falling into the Crystal River. Three culvert systems that direct the water under the road are gradually crumbling, potentially endangering drivers, marine life, and those traversing the river in canoes or kayaks. According to Brendan Mullane, managing director for the Leelanau County Road Commission, the roadway is not in imminent danger of collapse, but the problem needs to be addressed now. “They’re not failing tomorrow, but they’re going to fail. We need to plan now so it doesn’t become an emergency,” he says.

Fixing the crossings will cost millions, far beyond road commission budget.

So, the road commission is enlisting several partners to address funding and the environmental challenges, including the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Conservation Resource Alliance, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Natural Resources Conservation Service-USDA.

The local government and nonprofit organizations have been working to identify culvert replacement options that restore a more natural flow to the Crystal River. Plans call for timber bridges for two of the crossings and a concrete and steel structure to replace the culverts under County Road 675 closest to M-22.

The culverts restrict the water flow, causing it to shoot through the metal tubes at a higher velocity than the natural river flow. That prevents the natural movement of sediment down the river and creates plunge pools at the downriver end of the pipe; as a result, the bottoms of the culverts are far above the streambed. The surrounding riverbank and roadway are also facing erosion. The river also flows between and under the culverts, creating the potential for a sinkhole, according to Conservation Resource Alliance biologist DJ Shook.

He says all three culvert systems are undersized, restricting stream flows and creating a barrier to fish, wildlife and paddlers. Andrea Paladino, a civil engineer with the NRCS-USDA, agrees, noting they alter the stream’s ability to provide the necessary conditions for aquatic organisms of all different kinds to navigate upstream.

The latter will keep the two road surfaces closely matched in elevation, while the classic timber bridges will provide plenty of headroom for paddlers, ending the need for portages across the road.

Brett Fessell, a restoration specialist for the Grand Traverse Band, notes a wide spectrum of wildlife species use the river as corridors to traverse the area. “By forcing the river through a series of small pipes, you exclude those things that move along the riverbanks and force fish to battle unnaturally concentrated, high-velocity water flows,” he says.

Funding for the program is likely to come from a number of sources. “There is a likelihood of fully funding the work on these crossings with granted funds from several sources, including the Regional Conservation Partnership Program operated by NRCS, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the Bureau of Indian Affairs roads program,” says Fessell.

The Leelanau County Road Commission will sponsor a public information session next spring detailing construction plans. Here, watch a video documenting the upcoming Crystal River Bridge project, which is “penciled in for fall of 2023,” Mullane tells the Leelanau Ticker.