Major bridge connecting Columbus, Phenix City to be ‘replaced.’ How it will affect your commute
Replacement of a major bridge connecting Columbus to neighboring Phenix City will begin in the next five years.
The Oglethorpe Bridge, which crosses over the Chattahoochee River near the Columbus Civic Center and Golden Park, is nearing the end of its lifespan.
Drivers should not worry: The bridge is still safe to drive on now, according to Columbus Consolidated Government Planning Director Rick Jones, and replacement likely will begin around 2025.
“(The bridge’s) lifespan is coming to an end,” Jones told listeners on a Coalition for Sound Growth videoconference on March 22. “ ... It needs to be replaced.”
Why it’s being replaced
The bridge was built in 1962 and, due to its age, has reached the point where work needs to be done, Jones told the Ledger-Enquirer.
So while the bridge is not unsafe for drivers now, work needs to be done in the next 10 to 15 years, he said.
“This is more of preventative maintenance now, so that we don’t have problems in the future with this particular project,” Jones said.
The Georgia Department of Transportation is responsible for replacing the bridge.
GDOT has hired consultants to start work on the bridge, Jones said, and look into aspects such as the design of the new one.
“The main thing I think everybody should know is, this is not just on a wish list right now,” Jones said. “This is actually moving forward. They have it programmed to start probably as early as 2025.”
When will it happen — and how will commutes be affected?
The bridge serves as a major roadway that connects Columbus and Phenix City, and that means lots of traffic will be affected when the project begins.
GDOT’s traffic analysis map shows around 30,000 vehicles moving eastbound across the bridge, with another 28,000 moving westbound per day.
The bridge likely cannot be entirely closed while work takes place, Jones said, simply due to the high volume of traffic. GDOT instead will likely have to find some way to control the traffic that crosses the bridge during construction.
Construction could take around 36 months to complete, but the timeline is potentially longer, Jones said.
When construction begins, it likely will take around 36 months, potentially longer, to complete, Jones said. Construction will not start soon, though. The project is still in the “concept state.”
And the timeline could change, Jones said: Boilerplate things like permits and the final design of the bridge — which Jones said the city wants to have a say in — still must be taken care of.
“It could be a good 10 years, when all’s said and done, before anybody drives on a new bridge,” Jones said.
