Built in 1939, widened in 1993, DOT believes a new bridge is needed
The Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT) has notified a county landowner of the DOT’s proposed plan to replace a bridge over Coldwater Creek on Georgia Highway 77 (Hartwell Highway) in 2022.
The bridge is in a dip on the highway that travelers headed north into Hartwell reach just prior to getting to the Hart County border, approximately 9.5 miles from Elberton.
According to a letter sent to a county landowner near the project, DOT will not have a “right-of-way pre-acquisition meeting” for the project because “of the small number of property owners” affected by the bridge replacement.
DOT documents indicate that a detour bridge will be built next to the current bridge on the east side.
The detour bridge would be removed after the new bridge is constructed. The time frame for the work to be done on the highway, in a May 2021 DOT memorandum, was estimated as 18 months, but documents within the DOT file on the project estimated the time frame could be as long as two years.
DOT documents say the bridge is in “fair” condition but that due to the “age of the structure and not meeting current design standards, replacement of this bridge is recommended.”
According to DOT, not replacing the bridge isn’t an alternative because the “structural integrity of the bridge is insufficient.”
Alternatives the DOT rejected included building a detour bridge on the west side of the highway and shutting down traffic completely on the main road from Elberton to Hartwell while bridge construction was completed. Building a detour bridge to the west side would, according to DOT documents, require a much longer bridge to traverse the creek and drive up costs of the project.
According to DOT “detour letters” sent to Elbert County Board of Education transportation officials, Elbert County Emergency Services and county officials, closing down the highway during bridge construction would result in increased travel time for school buses and emergency vehicles.
“We prefer an on-site bridge detour,” said Elbert County Administrator Bob Thomas in DOT documents.
Estimated total cost of the bridge replacement, according to DOT, is a approximately $4.3 million.