Bridge work to close Cherokee County road for eight months

Work begins this week in the Ball Ground area to replace a bridge that carries Lower Dowda Mill Road over Sharp Mountain Creek, Cherokee County announced.

The road will be closed to through traffic until June 11, 2021, the county said. A detour will be posted utilizing Upper Dowda Mill Road, Ga. 108, Ga. 515 and Lower Dowda Mill Road.

In July, county commissioners awarded a $984,480 bridge replacement contract to McCarthy Improvement Co.

The existing bridge is a narrow, one-lane steel span with wood decking, no shoulders and posted weight restrictions. The new bridge, a steel truss supporting a concrete deck, will have two, 12-foot-wide travel lanes and shoulders.

About the Author

David Ibata for the AJC

Man sentenced to life in slayings of Cherokee firefighter, wife

The deaths of Amber and Justin Hicks shocked their family and community. On Friday, Matthew Lanz was sentenced to life in prison.

CobbLinc first public transit agency to deploy AV tech with Cumberland shuttle

8 driverless shuttles on a roughly 3-mile route will connect key landmarks, including Truist Park and The Battery, Cumberland Mall and the Chattahoochee River Recreation Area

‘I hope we don’t die’: Kids recount elevator rescue, reunite with firefighters

After being trapped for hours in an Atlanta high-rise elevator, two children were rescued by firefighters who rappelled down a blind shaft during frigid weather.

The Latest

Credit: AJ Willingham/AJC

Sweet Tea: A world of magic

1h ago

Man sentenced to life in slayings of Cherokee firefighter, wife

CobbLinc first public transit agency to deploy AV tech with Cumberland shuttle

Featured

Credit: Miguel Martinez

‘Worst nightmares come true.’ Atlanta confronts shift in homelessness funding.

Trump’s overhaul threatens permanent housing for an estimated 600 Atlanta households and 170,000 people nationwide, advocates warn.

Microsoft’s newest AI ‘superfactory’ opens at sprawling Fayetteville campus

One of the largest data center campuses under construction in Georgia has its first operational tenant, and it’s one of the most recognizable names in technology.

Atlanta officials quietly rebrand city’s DEI office

The city of Atlanta office overseeing diversity, equity and inclusion is getting a rebrand amid assaults at the federal level on such initiatives.