I've found out maybe in the last year or two that it appears that it's the bridge owner's responsibility to clear logjams from bridges. I read a Lansing city council resolution where they were thanking a railroad for clearning one, which seemed odd to me. So perhaps it's not a formal responsibility. I bring this up, because I've been wondering about who has jurisdiction in the state when trees fall in the river. Storms have brought down tons of trees into the Grand in recent years (Riverfront Park is a big one), and people don't think about it, but you get enough of these and they form significant obstructions in the river not just for boaters, but the water itself, which makes the rivers much more susceptible to flooding when it rains.
I was also reading history on the Chicago canals, and what really struck me was how much they increased drainage capacity & flow simply by removing bridge piers from the water.
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I was also reading history on the Chicago canals, and what really struck me was how much they increased drainage capacity & flow simply by removing bridge piers from the water.