While the county was installing another warning system to alert drivers to Cobb covered bridge’s low clearance, the driver of a work van became the 22nd person in nearly two years to hit a metal beams protecting this coveted structure.
The work van bonked the beam along Concord Road while crews were installing mast arms, which will have chains and reflective plastic-covered pipes suspended at seven feet, the same clearance as the bridge.
After drivers see existing static warning signs, vehicles that are too large to pass through the bridge will strike the pipes. Cobb County hopes drivers of too-tall vehicles who smack these chains and pipes will not try to pass through the bridge.
Cobb spokesman Ross Cavitt said the county Department of Transportation will install the chains and reflective pipes over the coming days. The entire system should be up and running next week, depending on DOT’s schedule.
County Commissioners at their April 23 meeting approved a contract with Detection Engineering Technology, Inc. to install the new system for the bridge. The company will perform the work at a cost not to exceed $19,540.
READ | Explore the history and beauty of Georgia's covered bridges
Cobb County hopes this new system will eliminate the number of close calls reported at the bridge spanning Nickajack Creek just south of the East-West Connector.
Wednesday’s incident is the 22nd close call for the bridge since December 2017 when the county installed metal beams as part of an $800,000 taxpayer-funded rehabilitation.
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