Teri Pope, spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Transportation’s Gainesville office, recently provided details of the upcoming $7 million project to replace Clarks Bridge on Route 284 in Hall County, which is scheduled to begin this fall.
The construction of the new bridge — to be built alongside the existing structure to ensure normal traffic flow — is expected to take about two years. The new span will have two 12-foot vehicle lanes, with 4-foot bicycle lanes and 5-foot sidewalks in both directions.
Overall, the new bridge will be 120 feet longer than the current one and more than twice as wide.
The DOT plans an 11-mile detour onto U.S. 129 / Cleveland Highway during the 60 days Clarks Bridge is expected to be closed, sometime in 2014.
After the new bridge is complete, the old bridge will be razed.
