State To Spend $7 million To Replace Cloudland Bridge

Summerville, Ga– Work could begin soon on replacing the bridge on State Route (SR) 48 over East Fork Little River in Chattooga County. Georgia DOT has just awarded a contract to Wright Brothers Construction Company of Charleston, Tennessee, valued at over seven million dollars for a construction project to replace this bridge, 3.7 miles northeast of Menlo in Chattooga County.

The project includes 0.307 mile of construction of a bridge and approaches on SR 48 over East Fork Little River in Chattooga County. The old bridge was built in 1937. It has been deemed structurally deficient by Georgia DOT bridge inspectors and recommended for replacement.

“Transportation projects like this one continue to positively influence the lives of Chattooga County’s residents,” said Grant Waldrop, district engineer at the GDOT office in Cartersville.

The existing bridge will be closed to traffic during construction. Traffic will be detoured via an on-site detour constructed south and west of the existing alignment. Due to the presence of known population of the federally threatened plant species Sagittaria Secundifolia near the existing bridge, the detour cannot be located parallel to the existing bridge.

This bridge replacement project is scheduled to be completed by the end of May 2023 at a construction cost of $7,479,554.   Information on construction and detouring traffic off Georgia Highway 48 at this location for this project will be forthcoming before work begins.

More details on this and other projects in the Department’s most recent bid awards are available via the Award Announcement Download at: https://www.bidx.com/ga/letting?lettingid=18081701.

The public is urged to “know before you go.” For real-time information on active construction, incidents and more, call 511 or visit www511ga.org before you get into your car.

Roadway work zones are hazardous for workers and for the public. In fact, most fatalities in work zones crashes are drivers or passengers. Obey the rules in work zones – Pay Attention – Slow Down – Watch for Workers.  And always, expect the unexpected. It can make the difference between life and death. Remember – work zone safety is in your hands.