East River Road/North Hickory Canal Bridge

The East River Road Bridge is eligible for the National Register under Criterion C as a representative example of a continuous concrete-slab bridge. It is also eligible under Criterion A as an example of the evolution of the road commission's bridge design. The Ferry Street Bridge over the Thorofare Canal, also on Grosse Ile, is eligible under the National Register under the same criteria. The East River Road Bridge was built as part of a project to straighten and widen a section of the south end of East River Road. The road, which had run along the bank of the Detroit River, was moved to the west, and the existing timber bridge was removed. Plans for the new bridge were approved by chief designer Julian C. Mead in February 1944. The bridge was apparently not completed until the following year. The Wayne County Road Commission used the continuous concrete slab as a standard bridge plan in the years during and after World War II, presumably in part to minimize the use of steel, which was expensive and difficult to obtain during this period. The commission experimented with different forms for the precast concrete bent piles. On East River Road, the piles are octagonal in section.

Hickory Island is located near the mouth of the Detroit River. The East River Road Bridge, a three-span, continuous concrete slab, crosses the North Hickory Canal to connect the north end of the island with marshy land at the southeast end of Grosse Ile. The 64-foot structure's solid concrete parapet railings, which contain large pebble aggregate, are trimmed near the top edge with an incised horizontal line. A similar line traces the level of the deck on the outside face of the railing. The railing ends turn at a 90-degree angle to follow the concrete wing walls, which are perpendicular to the center line of the bridge. Metal guardrails edging the bridge approaches are attached to the inside ends of the railing. Concrete abutments and piers hold a 34-foot-wide concrete deck with a 24-foot-wide asphalt roadway and two sidewalks, each measuring 5 feet in width. The piers are comprised of a row of square-section concrete posts with beveled edges. The structure's longest span is 24 feet.