Officials with the Town of Mt. Airy are awaiting information from Norfolk Southern before making a decision about whether to accept a wooden bridge over the railroad.
“We had several concerned citizens at last night’s council meeting,” said Town Councilman Adam Tullis. “There is a misconception about the town wanting to close the Seventh Street bridge.
Late last year, town officials discussed the condition of the aging wooden bridge that links the Dicks Hill Parkway area of town with homes on Keller Road and off Wilson Road.
“The state did a routine inspection of the bridge,” Tullis said. “They pointed out maintenance items that need to be done and recommended we lower the weight limit to five tons. The town had a meeting with the railroad to discuss the bridge and its needed maintenance.”
Tullis said railroad officials informally offered to bring the bridge up to Georgia Department of Transportation specifications then turn the bridge over to the town which then would be responsible for the bridge and its future maintenance costs.
The town asked the railroad to provide written clarification of what bringing the bridge up to GDOT specifications entails. To date, that information has not been received.
“It looks like the question is going to be does the town want to take over the bridge and its maintenance?” Tullis said. “For me personally, the answer would be no with the current information that’s available.”
What might that mean for the future of the Seventh Street bridge?
“There is a possibility that if the town refuses to accept the bridge, the railroad could close it,” Tullis said.
Tullis shared the reasons he believes the Town of Mt. Airy is not in the position to own a bridge.
“First is the cost to maintain it and eventually replace it,” Tullis said. “We could probably get around 20 more years of use out of the bridge after the railroad repairs it. If we use a conservative figure of $2 million for the replacement cost of the bridge – the actual number would probably be much higher – we would have to put aside $100,000 a year to cover the replacement in 20 years. The above $2 million doesn’t account for any maintenance that would be needed in those 20 years. We would have to double the town’s millage rate in order to cover its replacement cost.”
Tullis said another concern is liability incurred if the town accepts ownership of an aging wooden bridge structure.
“It’s a huge liability for a small town like Mt. Airy,” Tullis said.
Tullis also provided historical context for his objection to the town accepting responsibility for the bridge from the railroad.
“Before 1915, Seventh Street, Chase Road, Doc Keller, Fourth Street, and Sixth Street were just nice, simple roads with no bridges,” Tullis said. “Southern Railway decided to strengthen and double its tracks in 1915. They moved the tracks from the center of town to their current location. When they made these moves, they agreed to construct and maintain these bridges and underpasses. For the past 100-plus years, they have done exactly what they said they would do and maintain them.
“I personally think that the railroad should continue to maintain the problem that they created so many years ago when they decided to cut the town in half,” Tullis said.
