Those who routinely travel between Elbert County and South Carolina on Ga. 368 need to find a different route beginning Tuesday.
The Georgia Department of Transportation is closing the highway for six months to accommodate replacement of the bridge over Pickens Creek.
Also known as Anderson Highway, the road connects Ga. 77 north of Elberton with S.C. 184 at the state line.
According to GDOT officials, eastbound traffic will be detoured off the highway at Montevideo Road onto S.C. 184, left on S.C. 81, north to Starr, S.C., where it will be directed left on S.C. 181, onto Ga. 181 and Ga. 77 Spur. Traffic then go approximately seven miles on Ga. 77 South and back to Ga. 368.
The westbound lanes of Ga. 368 will be closed at Ruckersville Road and traffic will be redirected onto Ga. 77 North onto Ga. 77 Spur and go approximately seven miles to Ga. 181, crossing into Starr, S.C., and continuing on S.C. 181, right on S.C. 184 to S.C. 184, and back to Ga. 368.
Message boards at the closing points on Ga. 368 and signs along the detour route in Georgia and South Carolina will guide motorists.
"We certainly hope that all motorists watch out for these detour signs and be extra cautious while approaching this work zone," said District Engineer Brent Cook of the GDOT office in Gainesville.
Officials say the existing bridge was built in 1941, with a lower weight limit than the current legal state truck weights. The overall condition of the current bridge was classified by GDOT inspectors as poor.
In fact, the overall condition of the structural integrity of the old bridge prompted a recommendation that it be replaced rather than repaired.
According to GDOT, the deck is in poor condition with advanced concrete cracking and deterioration; the superstructure is in poor condition due to advance section loss in the steel beams; and the substructure also is in poor condition with the advanced deterioration of the timber elements.
The bridge was designed with five spans of steel beams on timber caps and timber piles.
Work on replacing the bridge on Ga. 368 over Pickens Creek began in early November, with the entire project scheduled to be completed by mid-October, at a construction cost of $1,205,829.
