Two new bridge replacement projects in Walker County are now up for public review, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation, as two other bridge replacement projects are underway in the county.
"In general, the motivation has been to replace aging infrastructure that is past its lifespan to improve access for school buses, farmers and industry, while providing enhanced safety for motorists," said Joe Legge, public relations director for Walker County, regarding the bridge replacement projects.
One bridge replacement is on County Road 219/Red Belt Road over West Chickamauga Creek. Built in 1980, the bridge is approximately 130 feet in length and posted for weight restriction. Its $4.3 million replacement bridge is scheduled to begin construction in 2025, according to GDOT.
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The second bridge to be replaced is on County Road 434/Euclid Road/Lee Clarkson Road over West Chickamauga Creek. The length of the $4.6 million replacement bridge is approximately 0.24 miles, and construction is scheduled for 2026, according to GDOT.
In an email, Legge said that a few years ago, the weight capacity on several Walker County bridges had to be reduced -- impacting travel time for school buses.
"For example, school buses could no longer cross the bridge located at Hog Jowl Road over Voiles Creek," Legge said. "Three buses needed to cross that bridge, but were forced to turn around and backtrack because they couldn't safely travel through. This created a major inconvenience and added roughly 15 minutes to the bus ride for those students."
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Along with the two bridges up for public review, six more are part of GDOT's local bridge replacement project.
Two bridges in that batch are underway: one on Old Trion Highway over Dry Creek and another on Highway 27 over West Chickamauga Creek. Four more are completed: Captain Wood Road over Mud Creek, Hog Jowl Road over Shaw Branch Creek, Hog Jowl Road over Voiles Creek, and Old Lee School Road over Dry Creek.
All the bridge replacements are GDOT projects are bid out to private contractors, Legge said.
Representatives from GDOT could not be reached for comment before deadline. But in a video posted online, Joshua Cofer, bridge maintenance supervisor for GDOT, stood on a bridge over the Chattahoochee River in Fulton County. He said Georgia's nearly 15,000 bridges are inspected by the GDOT Office of Bridge Design and Maintenance every two years. The office has 11 teams, Cofer said, along with three specialized teams that require bucket trucks and other heavy equipment for inspections, and two dive teams that look at anything underwater.
"We look for any deficiencies on the bridge, any type of cracking, exposed rebar, any corrosion on beams," Cofer said about his team's bridge inspections. "(We) make sure the bridge is functioning properly and there's no damage to the bridge that's going to render it unsafe for people to travel."
Cofer said his team members think about their own familiy members and loved ones using the bridges they inspect -- because if the bridges are safe enough for their loved ones, they're safe enough for everyone.
Contact Andrew Wilkins at awilkins@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659. Follow him on Twitter @tweetatwilkins.