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In With the New… Out With the Old on Chestatee River
GDOT photo
Having completed the Georgia Department of Transportation’s (GDOT) new $22 million State Route 53 bridge — the Bolling Bridge — over the Chestatee River (Lake Lanier) last July, vehicles are now using it and the Scott Bridge Company Inc. has started the demolition of the old steel truss bridge (built in 1955/56).
By Irwin Rapoport
Having completed the Georgia Department of Transportation’s (GDOT) new $22 million State Route 53 bridge — the Bolling Bridge — over the Chestatee River (Lake Lanier) last July, vehicles are now using it and the Scott Bridge Company Inc. has started the demolition of the old steel truss bridge (built in 1955/56), which should be completed in October. CEG CORRESPONDENT
In With the New… The $19.7 million project consisted of a new two lane bridge that is approximately 7.3 mi. west of the city of Gainesville. The work area (0.74 mi. in Forsyth and Hall counties) is approximately 0.39 mi. southwest of the Chestatee River and extends to a point approximately 0.35
Scott Bridge photo
The barges went from one end to the other, drilling the caissons down into the lake bed to the Hall County side.
mi. northeast of the river. The 987-ft.-long bridge has two 12-ft. lanes with 8-ft. shoulders. The new roadway approaches provide two 12-ft. lanes and 10-ft. shoulders, including a 2-ft. paved section. The new bridge construction began in late 2015 and, save for a few days of rain and other weather-related delays, the construction has been non-stop, including several night shifts to pour concrete for the caissons and the deck. …And Out With the Old The old bridge was determined to be structurally deficient and was eligible for federal bridge replacement funding. GDOT inspects bridges every two years by Federal regulations. “If the grading drops below a certain point, it goes on a list as to whether it is more cost efficient to continue maintaining or just replace it. When it falls below that rating, it doesn’t mean that it’s unsafe. They look at more from maintenance
standpoint,” said Derek Wade, GDOT construction manager (Level 4), who was assigned to the project. A GDOT public document described the state of the old bridge. “The existing vertical clearance… is approximately 17 feet above the normal pool elevation of the lake [Elevation 1071 feet],” it noted. “The existing maximum horizontal clearance between bridge piers is approximately 285 feet, between the two center piers. The Bolling Bridge is a fracture critical structure that has been struck by vehicles on numerous occasions due to the low clearance of the overhead steel trusses [15 feet above the bridge deck]. The deck within the main spans is currently six inches thick and is exhibiting transverse and longitudinal cracking, as well as some minor concrete deterioration on the underside of the deck. “Some of the floor beams and stringers have also experisee BRIDGE page 6