In November 2022, Cornelia City Commissioner Don Bagwell said, “Once the bridge is gone, it’s gone forever.” Well, that day has come. Hoyt Street Bridge is gone.
In December, Norfolk Southern Railroad removed the well-worn cut-through bridge that led from one side of town to the other. The railroad is now in the process of cleaning up the remaining debris. Norfolk Southern (NS) is waiting for material to be delivered to permanently block off Hoyt Street and make it safe for residents and the traveling public. Right now, concrete barricades are blocking both ends of the roadway where the bridge once stood.
Failed negotiations
Norfolk Southern wanted the bridge removed, at least in part, so it would no longer have to maintain it. The railroad was in on-again, off-again negotiations with the city for nearly two years. About 18 months ago, it appeared the two sides had struck a deal. The railroad agreed to dismantle the bridge and clean up the area at no cost to the city. In addition, Norfolk Southern agreed to pay Cornelia $100,000.
At the same time that deal was unfolding, Cornelia was working to get an upgraded rubberized rail crossing at South Main Street downtown. The city secured funding for the $224,500 project, but Norfolk Southern refused to agree to it when the city did not immediately sign off on the deal to remove the Hoyt Street Bridge.
Eventually, the two sides reached an agreement after Cornelia conducted a traffic study and determined that only a handful of people were utilizing the bridge.
Bagwell says the city took its time in making the decision because it didn’t want to alienate residents who used the bridge to walk and drive across town. However, the bridge was in a state of steady decline. Bagwell says the weight limit for vehicles to safely cross the bridge had “decreased to the point that it had become dangerous.”
Finding common ground
The two sides resumed their talks and agreed to the original terms. Cornelia allowed the railroad to tear down the bridge at no cost to the city. Norfolk Southern has delivered its $100,000 check to Cornelia. City Manager Dee Anderson says the city will apply those funds to the cost of the rubberized rail crossing, which Norfolk Southern has now approved. The Georgia Department of Transportation will pick up the rest of the tab.
“In negotiating with the railroad, I think we were trying to both get to a happy place where the railroad achieved its goal, which was to remove the bridge so that trains could pass freely underneath it,” Bagwell tells Now Habersham.
He says that it just made sense to find some common ground with the railroad so they could remove the bridge, and the city was able to achieve that goal.
“I think that was a really good thing, ultimately. The railroad agreed to help us out on improving where you cross the tracks downtown. That wound up being a win-win, I think, for both the railroad and the city,” says Bagwell.
While some residents expressed concerns about losing the bridge as a conduit to other parts of the city, Hoyt Street residents seem generally pleased with the decision to get rid of the bridge, according to Bagwell. He says that since the bridge has closed, residents have told him their neighborhood is much quieter, and it’s much safer now for their children to play outside.
