Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Another delay has hit the Islands Expressway bridge over the Wilmington River, pushing the four-lane bridge's estimated completion to summer 2024, two years past its original completion date.
Bridge work has been plagued with construction issues as risers have sunk into the soft marsh mud upon which the bridge is built. Initial delays required the bridge design to be extended and the slope of the bridge to be made steeper, causing one of several traffic concerns for neighbors of the construction.
The first half of the bridge, the westbound lanes, will open this summer. Once those lanes are open, work to demolish the current draw bridge and begin constructing the eastbound lanes will start, according to Jill Nagel, spokesperson for the Georgia Dept. of Transportation (GDOT). The work on the second half is slated to take two years.
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
In August 2021, GDOT officials estimated the bridge would be finished by summer 2023. The original contract with the builder, Prince Construction, called for a June 2022 completion date.
Nagel said the contractor, Prince Construction, placed the final beams and is working now to pour the final stretch of pavement for the bridge, which will connect the two arcs of the westbound lanes.
Nagel added that additional work to erect mechanically stabilized earth retaining (MSE) walls — which support the bridge and ensure it doesn't sink or shift in the shifting marsh soil below — is underway.
The delayed work has continued to cause issues for four neighborhoods that border the construction zone. Last year, at least two neighbors were involved in wrecks that totaled their vehicles, according to residents in The Bluff and Causton Bluff communities. Representatives for the neighborhood associations told the Savannah Morning News that the traffic continues to cause a safety issue for the neighborhoods, whose entrances are in the thick of the construction zones and blocked by a tangle of orange-and-white-striped cones.
Safety plans for the bridge include deacceleration lanes into the neighborhoods, but residents want to see a safety light, or other increased measures. Representatives from the neighborhood associations said GDOT has not conceded to these requests.
Chatham County Sheriff's Deputies enforce speeding in the work zone, which neighbors said has helped increase safety, but it's not a cure-all.
Zoe covers growth and how it impacts communities in the Savannah area. Find her at znicholson@gannett.com, @zoenicholson_ on Twitter, and @zoenicholsonreporter on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: GDOT pushes Islands Expressway bridge completion to 2024, westbound lanes open this summer
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