Residents can now learn about the history of the area that’s home to Cobb County’s famous Concord Road covered bridge.
The Friends of the Concord Road Covered Bridge Historic District has released its self-guided audio walking tour app, which is now available to download from the App Store or Google Play.
The free app takes users through the historic sites throughout the district and explores the lives of the people who settled the area in the 19th century. Residents can begin their walking tour at one of several locations around the district, learn about the history there and the app will guide them to other areas of interest in the district. The starting locations are the Concord Road trailhead to the Silver Comet Trail, Heritage Park at 60 Fontaine Road, Floyd Road trailhead to the Silver Comet Trail and the Covered Bridge over the East-West Connector.
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The historic district was created by Cobb County in 1986 and features homes and mills dating back to the 1800s. The Concord Road bridge, which spans Nickajack Creek just south of the East-West Connector, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The bridge since late 2017 has also been the site of nearly two dozen close calls by drivers of large vehicles who tried to pass through the structure’s seven-foot clearance. Cobb County in December 2017 installed protective metal beams at both ends of the bridge as part of an $800,000 taxpayer-funded rehabilitation. The beams are designed to absorb the blow from vehicles, protecting the bridge.
Despite that protective measure, drivers continued to add themselves to the Covered Bridge Wall of Shame, so the county in June 2019 installed dangling pipes and chains suspended at both ends of the bridge. Drivers of too-tall vehicles strike the new device, warning them to turn around before they reach the bridge.
Since that installation, the county has reported only one incident at the bridge when a driver crashed into one of the beams in February. The driver left the scene, and Cobb Department of Transportation crews were able to reattach the beam.
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