Based on a recommendation from Bulloch County Engineer Brad Deal, county commissioners authorized hiring an engineering firm to design a full replacement for the Watering Hole Branch bridge on Cypress Lake Road that has been closed since Feb. 26 after a single-vehicle accident damaged its support structure.

Deal told commissioners during last Tuesday’s regular meeting that replacing the 55-year-old bridge would take two years or more, keeping a detour on Cypress Lake for the entire timeline, but he deemed that a better long-term option than a repair that would be less expensive and close the bridge for approximately 12-18 months. 

“We do know that this does create an inconvenience for the public,” Deal said. “(We) do have a couple of neighborhoods that are right at the bridge. They primarily, I think, are using Riggs Mill Road to go to Pulaski Highway to get around it.”

Deal said he received a preliminary estimate of about $1.5 million to build a new bridge and after some discussion, commissioners voted unanimously to pursue hiring an engineering firm as the first step in a full replacement for the Watering Hole Branch bridge.

“I’m surprised its lasted as long as it did,” Commissioner Ray Davis said. “It’s been hit about 20 times in my life.”

The bridge was closed Feb. 26 after a pickup truck was discovered in Watering Hole Branch, underneath the bridge. Law enforcement determined the truck had been stolen the night before and though it is not known what happened, the truck veered off Cypress Lake Road and smashed into one of the support structures under the bridge.

No one was found at the scene.

An engineer with the Georgia Department of Transportation did a quick inspection of the bridge and determined it was unsafe and it was closed to traffic. Detours around the small bridge that crosses Watering Hole Branch on Cypress Lake Road have been in place since that day.

Deal said a similar incident on Akins Pond Road in 2018 closed that bridge for six months while it was repaired and he initially thought that might be the case on Cypress Lake Road, too.

However, “the GDOT bridge office came and did a more thorough inspection on the bridge,” he said at Tuesday’s meeting. “They get in a boat, go under the bridge and they can look at a lot of things that we don't have the ability of doing.

“This bridge had a lot of pre-existing issues before the accident that damaged it … The damage (from the wreck affected) some piles that were put in a few years ago to replace the rotten piles that had decayed. There is a steel beam on top of those piles that got struck by the vehicle. That beam rotated and now there is not a clear connection to the replacement piles that were put in.”

Repair/replace options

Following their inspection, DOT officials recommended Bulloch County get a structural engineer to evaluate the bridge. Deal said “a bridge engineer who works on a lot of bridges in Georgia” looked at the bridge and helped Deal and his department better understand the repair and replacement options.

“To rehabilitate the bridge, we're estimating that cost around $500,000,” Deal said. “We would have to go through a full design. GDOT would have to review the design and approve it. And then we would get into the actual work to construct it.

“We want to bring it up to the correct safety standards. I would say it probably would take more than a year to complete, because you've got to go through the full design and bid it out to a contractor to do the work.”

Deal then laid out for commissioners why he believes building a new bridge is the better option.

“The bridge was built in 1970,” he said. “It has an eight-ton weight limit, which is the lowest rated bridge in Bulloch County. Theoretically, it is at the end of its lifespan. A bridge that has timber supports the way this one does, the supports begin to decay. You're getting to the end of the useful life of the bridge.

“So, to do a full bridge replacement, the cost we're estimating is about $1.5 million. The difference is the bridge is going to have to be closed for more than likely a couple years or more to do that. 

“A much longer time period (than a repair), but we end up with a bridge that doesn't have weight restrictions on it. We can bring it up to the current safety codes. Have barrier wall on the on the side. If you've seen this (current) bridge, you know how narrow it is.

“In summary, what we're saying is that due to the age and condition of this bridge, my recommendation is that it's not worthwhile to try to rehabilitate it. It's probably not a good use of funds.”

Funding the replacement

Deal said he has looked into several options to pay for the bridge replacement. The Department of Transportation has two funding programs targeting problem bridges – the Low Impact Bridge Replacement Program and the Local Bridge Replacement Program.

“We feel that it's going to take several years to get anything approved where GDOT would actually move forward with doing it,” he said. “I don't think we can afford to wait that long.

“I do know that we have right now $200,000 in bridge maintenance that would help us to get started with design on it. Then I think after that, we would have to look at shifting some T-SPLOST funds around to pay for the actual construction. Like I said, we're estimating about a $1.5 million cost.”

After being assured that T-SPLOST funds were available and could be used on the project, Commissioner Nick Newkirk made a motion to authorize Deal to find an engineering firm to do a new bridge design. All commissioners voted in favor of the motion.

“I think in the in the essence of time going ahead (with an engineering firm) and bring a contract proposal back to (the board) for approval so they can get moving would be the best way to go,” Deal said.

“Obviously, it's going to be closed until we do something about it.”