Citizen Photo/ Glenn Harbison: GDOT is moving forward with plans to completely replace the Bossmull Memorial Bridge in McCaysville. There will be no through traffic for twelve months during construction.

By: Glenn Harbison

Officials with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) hosted a Public Information Open House Thursday, May 14, to provide a look at the preliminary plans for replacing the Boss Mull Memorial (concrete) Bridge spanning the Toccoa River in McCaysville.

The project initially raised concerns around plans to build a temporary bridge and that bridge’s location. GDOT officials have assured city officials a temporary bridge will not be constructed.

GDOT maps at the open house offered two detour routes, one the official GDOT route for 18-wheel trucks and other large vehicles, and an option local drivers would be expected to use.

The official route, to travel from Blue Ridge to Copperhill, utilizes Highway 515 from Blue Ridge to Lakewood, then Highway 60 through Mineral Bluff to Copperhill.

 A local route, for personal vehicles to cross the river from McCaysville to Copperhill, would take drivers out West Tennessee Avenue, continuing on Mobile Road, to Bethel Church Road and continuing on Deal Road, then to Grassy Creek Road and back into Copperhill by way of Highway 68. This route could also be utilized by emergency vehicles traveling from Georgia into Tennessee and vice versa.

The steel bridge across the Toccoa/Ocoee River on Grand Avenue at the Georgia/Tennessee state line would also remain open to smaller vehicles.

But if the concrete bridge is not replaced, it would become load posted, preventing vehicles with more than two axles from traveling across it, a GDOT summary provided at the open house said. The bridge would continue to deteriorate as it ages with the foundation remaining at risk, potentially creating an unsafe travel environment.

The concrete bridge, often referred to locally as “the new bridge,” was constructed in 1936, according to GDOT. It was designed for a two-axle, singe unit truck. This design is 30% lower than the current load carrying design capacity standard. 

Over the years, the bridge has experienced heavy scaling, overall wear and some cracking. Tee beams are showing some cracking, exposed rebar and corrosion while carrying an average 8,300 vehicles per day according to GDOT’s 2021 traffic count. About 125 of those are trucks weighing more than the design capacity.

The project is currently in its preliminary design phase. The next step is the approval of the preliminary design. As right-of-way acquisition and final design move forward, GDOT officials have indicated a 2028 start date.The project is expected to take 18 months with the route – Blue Ridge Drive across the bridge spanning the Toccoa River – closed to traffic for 12 months.