WYANDOTTE, Mich. (WXYZ) — A Wyandotte resident's keen observation may have prevented a serious incident after he noticed a sagging cement ceiling on a local viaduct and reported it to authorities.
Michael Balcom, who walks under the viaducts in Wyandotte daily, spotted the concerning issue while taking a different route than usual.
"Normally, I go this way down Eureka (Road) heading westbound, but I decided to change it up," Balcom said.
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The change in routine allowed him to notice something seriously wrong with one of the viaducts on Eureka Road.
"As I got over to this area, I just happened to look up and I saw that it looked like the ceiling of the viaduct. It was literally peeling off the bottom of the bridge," Balcom said.
Initially unsure if the situation warranted concern, Balcom ultimately decided to alert officials.
"I took another step and then something inside of me just said I should probably tell somebody about this," Balcom said.
He promptly reported the issue to Wyandotte police and the Wayne County Road Commission.
"The street fair is going on right now and the last thing I want to hear about is someone enjoying their time at the street fair and then leaving to come home only to have the bridge ceiling fall on their car, and heaven forbid somebody died," Balcom said.
Crews who responded to the scene indicated that the cement on the ceilings of viaducts is purely cosmetic and doesn't appear to involve structural damage. However, they will send a crew to complete a thorough inspection next week. For now, the road remains open.
The temporary road closure during the initial response disrupted fundraising efforts for Roosevelt High School cheerleaders, who were offering parking at the school for visitors attending the Street Art Fair in downtown Wyandotte.
"All the traffic slowed down. We didn't get as many sales," said Serenity Knight, a sophomore cheerleader at Roosevelt High School.
The parking fundraiser typically generates a large portion of the cheerleading team's annual budget. When asked if they could make up for the lost revenue, Cheyenne Adkins, a senior cheerleader, expressed optimism: "If it's busy tomorrow, then yeah."
Despite the inconvenience to the fundraiser, Balcom was impressed with the quick response from authorities.
"I feel bad that it was closed off for that period of time where they couldn't get people parking in there. They got on it right away. I was super impressed," Balcom said.
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