Doty Bridge

The new Doty Bridge extends over the north branch of Stutt’s creek to officially connect the Coalwood Trail in Wetmore, Michigan located in the Upper Peninsula. This 130 foot prefabricated bridge was set just in time this year for winter sports enthusiasts. Rated for 40 tons, snowmobiles and grooming machines can cross at ease with a scenic view.

The entire bridge including the timber decking weighs in at about 111,000 lbs. According to local authorities, this bridge will easily see 2,000 snowmobiles a day making it a key part of the trail. While the bridge connects miles of trails, it also provides an easy access to local restaurants, gas stations and even lodging.

One of the greatest challenges we faced was getting all of the equipment including the crane and the bridge segments to the proper part of the trail where it would all be assembled before lifting it over the ravine. Since this trail is mainly supported for snowmobiles and other off-road vehicles, there wasn’t much width to work with. However, with some additional gravel spread over the mile of trail and the proper guidance we made everything work perfectly.