Drawbridge connecting Detroit, River Rouge set to reopen

RIVER ROUGE, Mich. – A drawbridge connecting River Rouge and some other area communities to Detroit is set to reopen after a three-year shutdown and yearlong construction project.

Wayne County officials say the Jefferson Avenue bridge will reopen to traffic late Friday afternoon. County Executive Warren Evans, city officials and others will mark the occasion with a ribbon-cutting event.

Evans says in a statement that the closure "has created headaches" for residents and businesses.

Built in 1922, the bridge has been idle since May 2013 after an operator lowered it onto a freighter. Police later determined that the operator was drunk.