RIVER ROUGE - In 1922, the Jefferson Avenue drawbridge over the Rouge River began a run of 90 years faithful service, raising and lowering its steel leafs to allow the passage of freighter traffic to Henry Ford's Rouge Plant and later to Severstal Steel (and now AK Steel).

That was until May 12, 2013, when a drunk drawbridge operator lowered the bridge into the incoming 690-foot ore freighter Herbert C. Jackson. No people were hurt in the incident, but the ship sustained minor damage, and major damage was done to the north leaf of bridge, which knocked the span out of commission.

There has been nothing speedy about the $16.7 million repair process to the Jefferson Avenue bridge, or with the recent completed mechanical/structural repairs to its bascule bridge cousins built in the same era nearby at Fort Street and Dix Avenue over the Rouge. But by next month repairs by prime contractor AnLaan Co. and their building trades union workforce are expected to be complete, and the Jefferson Avenue drawbridge again will be in good working order.

"We've had to install the deck grating with the leaf up in the vertical position - that's been interesting," said Chris Chirillo of Iron Workers Local 25, and foreman for Bee Steel. "We've put in a new tip of the truss on the side of the bridge. floor beams, new grating, and new stringer beams. And during the course of a day we usually have to stop what we're doing for about a half hour at a time to let a ship pass through. All in all, it's been a good job."

When ore carriers pass through their worksite, since the motor has been disconnected, the north leaf of the bridge is raised and lowered by the use of a crane on site, hooked to the leaf's counterweight. The uninjured southern leaf of the bridge has remained in the upright position, and it may be due for rehabilitation in the next few years, workers on site said.

A crew of up to eight iron workers have been on the job over the past year making the steel repairs up top. Meanwhile, down below, Local 58 electricians from Detroit Electrical Services have been taking advantage of the bridge being out of service to upgrade some components associated with the bridge leaf's 100 horsepower motor. Late last month, electrical foreman Todd Waked and Conor Gallery were upgrading the span's motor register bank.

"It's interesting down here, isn't it?" said Waked moving among electrical and mechanical components of the bridge that have seen few updates since 1922. "We're replacing original parts, which they have finally decided to upgrade after all these years. We're here to help make sure this bridge keeps going for years to come. It's kind of a busy bridge."

Added Daniel Applebaum, working at the site for project design engineer HNTB: "The machinery down here is in good shape. There is some corrosion, but nothing that would affect the integrity of the system."

That busy bridge had been carrying about 6,400 vehicles a day along Jefferson Avenue into downtown River Rouge, and its closure has been a nightmare for businesses and motorists in the Downriver community. A Facebook page dedicated to the project is called "Fix the Damn Bridge." The three-year bridge closure has created a dead-end street on both the Detroit side and the River Rouge side, eliminating a vital traffic link and causing motorists to go miles out of their way -and certainly not through - the River Rouge business district. Most of the iron workers repairing the bridge are River Rouge residents, and they have to drive a few miles out of their way to get to work in the morning.

River Rouge Mayor Michael Bowdler called the span the city's "lifeline," and said "somebody dropped the ball" with the bridge repair project because of the delays in getting it repaired. The owner of the bridge, Wayne County, issued a statement last year saying: "currently there were several technical matters that need to be resolved ... before awarding a contract. The County is currently working with our insurance company with respect to the repair costs."

According to Bridge Hunter, the Jefferson Avenue "Bascule Pony Truss Bridge" was built in 1922. Its leafs are 90.9 feet long, with a total bridge length of 248 feet, and the width of the deck is 45.9 feet.

The State of Michigan said the Wayne County Road Commission's 1920-1921 annual report observed that construction of the bridge "presents some of the most difficult problems of underground and underwater foundation work, which are further complicated by the dangerous nature of the soil of the Rouge River district." Below each leaf were four 12-foot-square concrete footings, which were sunk pneumatically to bedrock 70 feet below the water line. The footings supported a 50- by 80-foot reinforced-concrete pit, which was built within a coffer dam, for the counterweights and machinery."

The bridge, built in the "Chicago style," was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000, and is only surviving pony truss bascule bridge in the State of Michigan.

WELDING THE STEEL grating that makes the deck of the Jefferson Avenue Drawbridge in River Rouge is Ricardo Benavides of Iron Workers Local 25. He’s employed by Bee Steel.

BUILT IN 1922, THE Jefferson Avenue Drawbridge over the Rouge River was doing fine until three years ago, when a drunk bridge operator dropped the northern leaf onto an oncoming ore freighter. The old leaf remains in its upright position, while the rebuilt leaf at left is nearly ready for vehicular traffic.

WORKING ON A SET of resistor banks associated with a Jefferson Avenue Drawbridge motor in River Rouge are Todd Waked and Conor Gallery of IBEW Local 58. They're employed by Detroit Electrical Services. Even though they are nearly a century old, nearly all of the rest of the electrical components of the bridge are still in serviceable condition and don’t need replacement.