Perdue Clears Way for Road Projects

Gov. Sonny Perdue has cleared the way for 11 road projects funded by the federal stimulus package to move forward. The projects cost $51 million and span Georgia, from metro Atlanta to Washington County. They include a $14.4 million project to build auxiliary lanes along a busy Macon highway and $10.1 million to refurbish a stretch of Interstate 85 from Franklin to the South Carolina border. Another $9 million will be spent to replace and refurbish bridges in Coffee County, Colquitt County, DeKalb County and Douglas County. Some $7.6 million will improve a main road in DeKalb County. Perdue said the state is "using these federal dollars wisely to improve our transportation network and to put Georgians to work."

(Associated Press)

DOT employee out after false bridge reports

The state Department of Transportation says it will re-inspect 54 bridges that an employee says he and his partner filed inspection reports on, but never visited. That longtime employee of the department has now resigned his job. DOT chief Gena Abraham says David Simmons’ falsified reports began showing up last fall. The DOT says it has no reason to believe the bridges are unsafe, but will check to make sure. Simmons has been with the DOT for 29 years.

Muskogee Co officials say area bridges sound

Donna Newman, director of engineering for Columbus told reporters this week that the city's bridges and similar structures are generally sound:

"For the most part, most of them are in good shape," Newman said on Thursday:

"Seven years ago, one of the lowest rated bridges in Georgia was in downtown Columbus. The 14th Street bridge, which was closed to vehicles in 2000 after the opening of the 13th Street bridge, scored a 2 out of a 100 in its final inspection. The bridge had structural issues as well as a heavy traffic load. It has since been converted into a pedestrian bridge."

Local officials reassure the public, saying that "structurally deficient" did not mean the bridge was unsafe for use, but only that repairs were needed. They add, though, that funds to fully carry out repairs are lacking.

Federal Highway Administration statistics from '06 rated eight percent of the state's bridges as "structurally deficient, below the 12% national average.

More on the state of Georgia's bridges is here.

State DOT says Georgia bridges safe

In the wake of the tragic bridge collapse in Minneapolis, state DOT officials say Georgia bridges are safe.

That’s the word from David Spear, state DOT spokesman. He says drivers should feel confident traveling across one of the nearly 15-thousand structures in the state.

Spear says inspections are done every two years on every bridge in Georgia. The more complex structures get inspections every year.

However, Spear says there is a growing roster of projects that should be put on a "to-do" list.

"We’ve got roughly one-thousand plus bridges in Georgia that we need to start thinking about replacing...steel and concrete can only last so long...a price tag probably in excess of 3-billion dollars".

Georgia has over five-thousand bridges between 30-50 years old. The bridge that collapsed in Minnesota was built 40 years ago.