COVINGTON, Ga. — Replacement of the bridge on Georgia Hwy. 142 over the CSX railroad in Newton County has been prolonged.
In recent weeks, construction crews have been seen busting up the concrete bridge deck. Georgia Department of Transportation District Communications Specialist Kyle Collins said that was because the bridge deck “did not have an acceptable thickness, therefore it must be removed and replaced.”
“What’s happening now is crews (are) removing the stage 2 portion of the bridge all the way to the beams,” he said. “The will have to reform the bridge, reinstall reinforcement in the concrete and re-pour the bridge deck.”
But, Collins said the project was at a “standstill” as of Wednesday, Oct. 21, due to damage of a beam that occurred during the recent demolition process. He said the GDOT bridge office now awaits the contractor’s plan to fix the beam.
“This beam problem pushes back the timeline for other project items,” Collins said.
The $14.1 million project officially began in December 2016, Collins said, and included 1.6 miles of widening and reconstruction for additional lanes on Hwy. 142, beginning at Interstate 20 and extending to Alcovy Road, prior to replacing the bridge.
Collins said the project’s completion date was set for March 2020 but various bumps in the road have led to several delays.
“The project was (first) delayed due to a utility conflict with a sewer line and the earth wall at the bridge,” he said.
Many construction items were finished by the end of spring while the summer was spent developing a plan to repair the bridge, Collins said.
Once the bridge deck’s thickness is corrected, Collins said the entire project would then be “topped, stripped, signals and shoulders completed.”
“Tentatively, the majority of work to open to traffic, except grassing, won’t be complete until early/spring 2021, we estimate,” he said.
Collins said Southeastern Site Development, Inc. was the prime contractor for the project and would be paying for the bridge repairs.
“They currently lose $1,191 each day the project isn’t complete and open to traffic,” he said.
