Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is holding a public meeting from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, April 11, to discuss relocating the historic M-86 bridge over the Prairie River, east of Centreville in St. Joseph County, to Crystal Springs Street over the Dowagiac River south of Dowagiac in Cass County.

The meeting will take place at the Cass County Road Commission, 340 N. O’Keefe St., Cassopolis.

MDOT and the Cass County Road Commission are exploring the possibility of restoring the historic M-86 bridge and relocating it to a nearby county road.

M-86 would have a new bridge built to replace the historic bridge.

While the historic M-86 bridge no longer meets MDOT width standards for a state trunkline, it would meet the needs of the proposed local road, and relocating the bridge would preserve it for another 50 years or longer.