Eric D. Lawrence

Detroit Free Press

A traffic nightmare, which cut a major lifeline for River Rouge, is over.

After three years, the Jefferson Avenue drawbridge has finally reopened, allowing traffic to flow once again between Detroit and River Rouge. The bridge had been closed to vehicle traffic since it was damaged when an operator lowered the bridge suddenly as a freighter was preparing to pass.

The lengthy closure devastated businesses in River Rouge and hampered travel for many commuters.

But today was an opportunity for celebration, and a Wayne County truck was the first vehicle to cross the bridge at about 5 p.m.

River Rouge Mayor Michael Bowdler cheered the news.

"It’s a big celebration," Bowdler said, describing a scene of thrilled residents. "Everybody in this city is so happy. … This is our main street."

The bridge had been out of operation since May 2013.

"We've been waiting for this for three years," Bowdler said earlier. "When you lose your main street in your city that gets (thousands of) cars a day, it impacts your whole city. In fact … it is affecting the whole Downriver region.'

Last year, Bowdler said he estimated that business at his own company, Michigan Screen Print on West Jefferson, was off about 50% because of the closure. The closure also added time for ambulances trying to reach Zug Island.

Bowdler had criticized the administration of former Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano for "dropping the ball" in the delayed response. In contrast, he praised the efforts of the Warren Evans administration to get the bridge repaired.

Evans called the project a "top priority."

“For the last three years, the closure of the Jefferson Bascule Bridge has created headaches for residents and negatively impacted the Downriver business community,” Evans said in a news release. “Reopening the Jefferson Bridge has remained one of my administration’s top priorities since taking office. The tireless effort and hard work of our administration has paid off and I can proudly say, 'We fixed the damn bridge.' ”

Evans' last comment was a reference to a common refrain around River Rouge and a Facebook page set up to push the repair effort.

The cost to stabilize and repair the bridge exceeded $20 million.

Last July, Wayne County Commissioners were asked to approve a $16.7-million repair contract with Anlaan Corp. of Grand Haven. That was on top of $493,000, which had already been approved for work by Z Contractors of Shelby Township to stabilize the bridge after it was damaged. In addition, Ryan Bridges, a spokesman for Evans, said $3.5 million was paid to HNTB Michigan of Detroit for engineering work.

The person responsible for the damage, a then-45-year-old woman who had been a county bridge operator for 17 years, was intoxicated when she lowered the drawbridge as the 670-foot Herbert C. Jackson was preparing to pass on the Rouge River, according to a U.S. Coast Guard investigator. She paid a $1,000 civil penalty, but was not otherwise charged at the time, although she did lose her job.

Ezra Graham, senior investigating officer for Sector Detroit, said last year it was the maximum penalty he could pursue.

The ship, which also was damaged, was carrying 23,000 tons of iron ore pellets to the Severstal North America plant in Dearborn, the Free Press reported.

After the incident, the bridge remained in the up position so ships could continue using the river. About 6,400 vehicles were previously estimated to travel the bridge daily.

Wayne County Commissioner Ilona Varga, D-Lincoln Park, was among those who attended the reopening ceremony this evening. She called it a "huge day" for the area. Varga's district includes part of Detroit, and she said the closure had been of concern for residents in Detroit as well as those in River Rouge in part because it made it difficult to get to Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence.