By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
DOT slaps weight limits on 4 bridges
Placeholder Image

Bridges receiving weight limits:

• Lewis Frasier Road over Peacock Canal: H-truck: 18 tons, type-3 truck: 18 tons, timber truck: 26 tons
• Barrington Ferry Road over Riceboro Creek: H-truck: 18 tons for H, type-3 truck: 19 tons, timber truck: 27 tons
• Cay Creek Road over Cay Creek: H-truck:  15 tons, type-3 truck: 15 tons, timber truck: 21 tons
• Cay Creek Road over Peacock Canal: H-truck:  16 tons, type-3 truck: 1 5 tons, timber truck: 22 tons

A recent Georgia Department of Transportation assessment of Liberty County bridges found that four bridges require weight-limit signage, and many bridges must have their deck joints repaired.
Liberty County engineer Trent Long on Aug. 16 presented the findings of the biennial study, which includes all bridge structures on public roads in the state.
“It’s very similar to what we get every two years. Most of them say you’ve got to clean up the drainage, change the expansion material, get the vegetation up,” Long said Tuesday.
The findings were not major or surprising, and the roads department regularly maintains aspects such as clearing drainage areas and vegetation, Long said.   
The bridge on Cattle Hammock Road over Tidal Canal is in “fairly satisfactory condition” and needs structural repair that Long suggested be bid out to a third party.
Long said the county has $260,150 allocated for repairs to that bridge. But he was not authorized to move forward because the board wants to take another look at bridge- and road-project priorities since funding will not come through T-SPLOST.  
Some erosion and settlement beneath some caps should be repaired, and the approach roadway at each end of the Cattle Hammock Road structure should be leveled with the deck, according to Long’s presentation. There also are cracks in concrete piles that should be cleaned and sealed, and spalling on beams and caps should be cleaned and patched.
Four bridges require weight-limit signage: Barrington Ferry Road over Riceboro Creek, Cay Creek Road over Cay Creek, Cay Creek Road over Peacock Canal, and Lewis Frasier Road over Peacock Canal.
“In order to get it to where you don’t have to sign it, you’d have to replace it,” Long said about Lewis Frasier Road over Peacock Canal. In addition to in-house deck joint work, the bridge has collision damage to a guardrail that should be repaired. Commissioner Eddie Walden asked who would enforce the weight limit for trucks using the bridge.
Long explained that although the county does not have the scales needed to enforce the limits, it’s required to post the limits according to their agreement with GDOT.  The agency also establishes the limits according to each bridge’s structural capacity, but the difference in limits is a reflection of their design rather than their need for repair.
The bridge with the most restrictive limits, Cay Creek Road over Cay Creek, has alternate routes truck drivers could take, Long added.
The culvert over Peacock Canal on Holmestown Road is in good condition and has some scouring that needs to be cleaned up during regular maintenance.
The bridge on Cay Creek Road over Peacock Canal was listed as fair and requires additional work to clean and reseal several bent piles, according to Long’s presentation.
“We don’t have funding identified for this road yet, but we’re going to be searching for some funding to do something with this one,” Long said.
The culvert over Sandy Run Road over Bull Town Swamp also is in good condition, though two feet of scour should be repaired to prevent undermining and possible structural damage.
The culvert on Mt. Olivet Church Road over Raccoon Branch also is in good condition, though some scours need to be monitored for signs of further degradation, some cracks should be cleaned and sealed and silt in two barrels should be removed to allow proper stream flow.
“Nothing we can’t handle ourselves,” Long said.

Sign up for our e-newsletters