Toccoa, GA – Georgia DOT announces concrete pours are scheduled for Friday and Monday to tie together the “pieces” and make the new State Route 17 Bridge one structure at the Stephens Franklin County Line. Concrete pours are scheduled for Friday, 24th and Monday, 27th if weather cooperates.
“The new northbound bridge will carry traffic over the railroad. It has four spans. The contractor plans to pour one span this Friday and one next Monday with the final two spans to follow, depending on weather. There are no lane closures associated with the concrete pour but it is an interesting site. We want you to know about it before it happens so the work won’t cause “onlooker delays”,” explained Harold Mull, Georgia DOT District Construction Engineer.
The “pieces” of the bridge include vertical concrete columns, horizontal concrete caps that form a capital T shape on the vertical columns. Then the horizontal bridge beams stretch between the caps. Steel plates are welded into place between the beams then concrete is poured into the steel pans tying the entire structure together. This concrete forms the driving surface of the bridge.
This 6.28 mile long widening project has a contract completion date of May 31, 2016. C.W. Matthews Contracting is building this project at a cost of $46.2 million.
State Route 17 from Toccoa to Interstate 85 is part of the 2012 Georgia Statewide Freight and Logistics Plan outlined the most viable freight routes providing the necessary connectivity to accommodate present and projected future freight flow through the state. These newly designated Freight Corridors represent approximately 17% of the roadways operated under the Department, yet provide for efficient north-south, east-west and last mile access for cargo and goods. The plan identified the 50 highest truck volume locations and the most critical freight bottlenecks throughout the state.
