Milton leaders voice opinions on replacement bridge aesthetics

At a recent Milton city council meeting, the Public Works Department asked the council to offer feedback on the appearance of five bridges the Georgia Department of Transportation intends to replace in 2025 and 2026. The aging bridges along Birmingham, Freemanville, Hopewell, Hickory Flat and Clarity roads will be replaced to bring them up to current design standards for load carrying capacity.

Councilmembers expressed a preference for design features including stone treatments, painted brown guardrails, and Milton-branded “gateway monuments” on bridges, but seemed uninterested in having timber features like a covered bridge.

The projects are all in the preliminary design phase. In each case, traffic is expected to be impacted with detours for 9 to 12 months. Accelerated Bridge Construction techniques will be implemented in some cases to reduce road closures and detours to 90 days or less.