TIFTON, Ga.-Motorists traveling Interstate 75 should be prepared for possible traffic delays and short detours up and over the Exit 66 (Brighton Road) ramps for two nights as contractors dismantle the overpass.
The Scruggs Co. and Southern Concrete Construction plan to detour northbound and southbound traffic Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 8 and 9, weather permitting. The detours will begin at 9 p.m. each night and are expected to last four or five hours.
Here's how the detours will work:
At least a half-mile from Exit 66, traffic will begin to funnel from three lanes to two and will eventually narrow to a single lane. Southbound I-75 traffic will detour up the southbound exit ramp and backdown the southbound on ramp. Northboundtraffic will detour up the northbound exit ramp and backdown the northbound on ramp.
Message boards will alert drivers of possible delays and law enforcement and flagmen will be stationed at the top of the ramps to help direct traffic.
The detours are more efficient and safer than pacing traffic on I-75 for the bridge removal, Georgia Department of Transportation engineers said.
“Generally, when we pace traffic, we provide only a 10 minute or so gap. This work takes longer than that. You can't stop in the middle of taking out a bridge. You also don't want to risk debris falling and hitting a vehicle that may be traveling under the bridge.” District Traffic Engineer Van Mason said.
The replacement of the bridge is part of the reconstruction of the Exit 66 interchange, which closed this week. It is scheduled to remain closed for 180 days, barring any weather delays or unforeseen circumstances that may arise. The time that the interchange will be closed should not be confused with the project completion date, which is Nov.30, 2016.
Some residents have asked why they can't continue to use the existing ramps as the bridge is being removed and replaced. That's not possible because heavy equipment will be operating close to the ramps and grading for the new bridge, which will be higher than the old bridge, will overtake the ramps.
Work on the reconstruction of the Brighton Road interchange began last summer. The existing two-lane bridge is structurally sound, but was built to 1959 standards. It is narrow, which makes it difficult for drivers at the top of the ramps to see oncoming traffic. The new bridge will have wider travellancs and a median turn lane. The exit and entrance ramps will be relocated and a loop ramp will be constructed for drivers exiting I-75 south.
Brighton Road will be widened from two lanes to two through lanes with a median turn lane on the west side of the bridge to the intersection of U.S. 41. The project will also increase the width of the shoulders of I-75 under the bridge. The current construction contract amount is $15.9 million and the primary contractoris The Scruggs Co. of Waldosta.
