Fifty + year old bridges, culverts due for upgrades
How safe are Pierce County’s bridges and box culverts?
Public Works Superintendent Bruce Carter presented the Pierce County Critical Infrastructure Report at last Tuesday’s commission meeting. The report is conducted by the Georgia Department of Transportation every three years.
While no bridges were ordered closed, the report identified 10 transportation structures on county roadways that are identified as needing “immediate attention.”
The four-tier priority scale grades bridges and culverts on a letter grade including C needs preventative maintenance, B needs attention within 24 months, B+ needs immediate attention within 12 months and A means immediate closure.
All Pierce County bridges and culverts on the list were given a B ranking meaning that attention is needed over the next two years.
Bridges and culverts on the list include Beulah Church Road, Little Hurricane Creek Road and Sunset Road all over the Little Hurricane Creek, Trudie Road over Brown Branch, and Voight Bridge Road over the Alabaha River. All were built between 1955 and 1974.
Culverts on the list include Radio Station Road over Little Hurricane Creek, Otter Creek Road and Laura Chapel Road, both over Griffin Branch, Otter Creek Road over the Otter Creek and Hacklebarney Road over Hacklebarney Creek.
All were built between 1948-1960. The bridges and culverts were inspected county-wide from July through December.
The Critical Infrastructure Report helps to identify roads that need repairs to maintain public safety, ensure roadway reliability and prevent further structural deterioration.
The detailed report summarizes the condition, risks and recommended actions for these structures. It provides a high-level overview to support funding requests, maintenance prioritization and planning for capital improvement projects.
The report says “the five bridges identified for corrective action exhibit a combination of aging materials, substandard load capacity and deterioration due to environmental exposure.”
Typical issues included:
• Concrete cracking, spalling and delamination
• Corrosion of steel girders, bearings or reinforcement
• Erosion and scour around piers and abutments
• Guardrail and approach roadway deficiencies
• Reduced structural ratings requiring posting or monitoring Failure to address these deficiencies could result in restricted traffic flow, unscheduled closures or increased long-term repair costs.
According to the report, the five box culverts “exhibit structural and hydraulic concerns that threaten roadway stability and adjacent drainage systems.”
Common findings on the culverts include:
• Joint separation and settlement
• Invert erosion and undermining
• Inadequate hydraulic capacity causing roadway overtopping during a hundred year storm event
• Cracking or deformation of concrete sections
• Embankment instability at inlet and outlet ends These conditions elevate the risk of washouts, roadway collapse and service interruptions.
The report also gives suggestions for addressing the problems on all the bridges and culverts to include:
• Structural Rehabilitation
• Concrete repair, steel treatment and strengthening of load-bearing elements
• Hydraulic and Erosion Control Measures
• Scour protection, channel stabilization and realignment of upstream/downstream flow
• Roadway and Safety Improvements
• Guardrail upgrades, approach pavement repair and improved signage
• Replacement (where rehabilitation is not feasible)
• Full structure replacement for assets with severe deterioration or inadequate design capacity
• Preventive Maintenance Enhancements
• Implementing long-term maintenance strategies to reduce future repair frequency and cost The report made several recommendations including: • Prioritizing repairs based on structural condition ratings and traffic importance
• Pursuing federal and state funding, including infrastructure grants and emergency repair allocations
• Developing phased construction timelines to minimize travel disruption
• Continuing detailed inspections and monitoring, especially for structures with known scour or load-capacity concerns
• Adopting a long-term capital plan that addresses recurring needs and integrates resilience against climate and storm impacts While the report was presented to commissioners as information, Fourth District Commissioner David Lowman asked Carter to begin identifying the worst bridges and culverts to advertise the work for repairs and report back to the commission.
