Mat on Houghton Bridge is down

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Dsbasecamp

New member
Got A call from Houghton Township that the mat is being put down that was at- 10am- thursday -Dec. 22 Things are starting to look better

Don & Donna
 
jd

jd

Administrator
Staff member
Jonger1150 said:
Ya, surprised they didn't put up a 10 foot tall barbed fence to stop depressed snowmobilers from jumping.
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Just drove across the highway portion of the bridge this AM. Anyone jumping would go splat, rather than splash, right now.

By the way, I can confirm the mat is down.

-John
 
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rjgoniea

New member
Administrator said:
Just drove across the highway portion of the bridge this AM. Anyone jumping would go splat, rather than splash, right now.

By the way, I can confirm the mat is down.
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I just took a look at the bridge cam over on pasty.com. You can see the mat. And it looks like the ice is pretty thin right at the bridge, so a splat followed by a splash? :) It certainly wouldn't be the fall that kills ya, that lower deck is only about 5' above the water. The near freezing water will do you in, but it'll take anywhere from 15-45 minutes. I think I'd rather sit inside with a nice beverage and wait for the snow. :)
 
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rjgoniea

New member
EXCESSIVE FORCE said:
With the depth/current in that area you probably wouldn't last that long,and then they'd find you sometime next spring...............
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I was gonna mention the current, from what I remember from living up there it's the reason that the ice near the bridge is so thin. But I couldn't recall how fast it was so I wasn't sure it would be enough to pull someone under the ice.

And spring might be optimistic. A few years ago in Houghton Lake a couple of dudes went through the ice on their snowmobiles either in late Jan or early Feb. Relatively shallow water and decent viz and the divers still didn't find one of the bodies until April. I think if the current in the Portage is enough to carry a body away, and if the body manages to get stuck in one of the nearby wrecks, it could be a long time before anything is found.

But enough of the cheerful talk, let's keep hoping for some snow! :)
 
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thebreeze

Member
Do they actually put a mat down over the metal grates and cover it with snow, or is it just snow piled on the metal grate?
 
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EXCESSIVE FORCE

New member
rjgoniea said:
I was gonna mention the current, from what I remember from living up there it's the reason that the ice near the bridge is so thin. But I couldn't recall how fast it was so I wasn't sure it would be enough to pull someone under the ice.

And spring might be optimistic. A few years ago in Houghton Lake a couple of dudes went through the ice on their snowmobiles either in late Jan or early Feb. Relatively shallow water and decent viz and the divers still didn't find one of the bodies until April. I think if the current in the Portage is enough to carry a body away, and if the body manages to get stuck in one of the nearby wrecks, it could be a long time before anything is found.

But enough of the cheerful talk, let's keep hoping for some snow! :)
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Just trying to deter the "jumpers".......Think snow.......!!
 
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jd

jd

Administrator
Staff member
thebreeze said:
Do they actually put a mat down over the metal grates and cover it with snow, or is it just snow piled on the metal grate?
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The snow is the mat. So the put the snow directly down on top of the metal roadbed.

-John
 
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timner

New member
I'd still be careful. Early mat conditions can be questionable. Hook a carbide and you'll take a big drink.
 
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