Residents of southeast Coweta County will soon see bridge replacement work beginning over Dead Oak Creek on Luther Bailey Road. Coweta commissioners last week gave unanimous approval to the project, awarding the $279,000 low bid to E.R. Snell Contractors, Inc.
The existing bridge will be replaced with a double 12-foot by 9-foot box culvert that, according to county administrator Theron Gay, should provide an extended lifetime of service.
The bridge replacement is being funded by the county’s special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST).
The county received a total of six bids for the project. Those ranged from the low bid by Snell at $279,326 to a high bid by Ronny D. Jones Enterprises of $379,634.
The condition of some of Coweta’s bridges mirrors that of bridges in communities across America. County Director of Development and Engineering Wayne Kennedy said recently that all 13 bridges on the current project list, along with 10 others, have a sufficiency rating score of 30-50 points. Bridges scoring below 50 are considered to be in need of replacement.
The existing bridge on Luther Bailey at Dead Oak Creek has a sufficiency rating of 15. Citing another example, Kennedy said the Shoal Creek bridge at Lower Fayetteville Road has a rating of 7 points.
Another SPLOST-funded bridge replacement project for 2010 includes Luther Bailey Road at Double Branch. Georgia Dept. of Transportation bridge projects for 2010 include White Oak Creek at Cannon Road and CSX Railroad on Greentop Road.
Further into the future, SPLOST funding is expected to pay for bridge work at Moore Road and White Oak tributary in 2011 and Moore Road at Little White Oak Creek in 2012. Still other bridge projects, as yet unconfirmed as to the date and funding source, include Little White Oak Creek at Al Roberts Road, Keg Creek at McIntosh Trail and projects along creeks on Holbrook Road, Mt. Carmel Road and J.D. Walton Road.
