As Defiance residents surely know by now, construction has begun to replace the Clinton Street bridge which carries Routes 15, 118 and 66 over the Maumee River.
While the project may seem inconvenient, the Ohio Department of Transportation promises the end result will be worth it.
But a new bridge isn't the only cool thing that will come out of this nine-month project; a piece of history has been unearthed during construction that is causing some Brew-ha-ha in Defiance.
(We wish we could take credit for that joke, but it was all ODOT.)
The brick foundation of a former brewery was found on the Maumee River's west bank during the location of a sanitary line.
Local historians say the brewery is believed to be the building to the right of the smokestack in the picture below and is in the spot where workers found the foundation.
Construction previously uncovered a sandstone footer from the 1880s as well.
Construction Update
ODOT says rain has caused river levels to rise, which is putting a damper on construction for the time being.
Work was not able to be done on the bridge on Saturday, and ODOT says they are not optimistic that Monday and Tuesday will be any better.
Once construction can start back up again, crews will back to building the fingers branching off the main causeway on the south side to allow construction to begin on the new piers.
ODOT says by the end of this week, weather permitting, the last two original piers are expected to be demolished, and by late next week pouring concrete foundations for the new piers.
A contractor also provided ODOT with this picture of the last bridge beam falling into the river.
The $8.3 million project is scheduled to be completed in July 2020.
Stay updated on the project and view the time lapse video on the project's website.
