Fisher Field Road Bridge

So what does a county do when the state condemns an old bridge that provides access to over a dozen homes? Just off Russell Scenic Highway about a quarter mile down Fisherfield Road crosses the Nottely River. Until recently residents relied on this old bridge to connect them to their homes. It's the only way in, the only way out. Maybe 25 homes, but I stand corrected.

The old bridge was in pretty rough shape. I knew it was coming. I've been watching the old one deteriorate. You see a lot of floods. Got videos of the water more inches, three inches underneath the old bridge. So last fall the state of Georgia actually condemned the old bridge. Problem is they wouldn't agree to pay to have it replaced which would have left dozens of residents stranded.

So thanks to SPLOST funds Union County was able to come up with a plan. First, they built this temporary bridge. But because the residents here on Fisherfield Road needed a permanent solution fast and since the state wouldn't pay for it, Union County officials collaborated with engineers who came up with a creative solution to construct and install a new bridge far less expensively and a whole lot faster than similar bridge projects the state has taken on.

This entire process was handled in about five months from design to root construction. Which is almost unheard of. They came in and poured these concrete footings for the bridge and today they're actually going to come and set the modular bridge down in two pieces.

Crews used two big excavators which attached their arms to each end of the bridge, lifted it off the truck on the side of the highway and then carefully coordinated their movements as they brought the 26,000-pound bridge down the steep hill. The entire bridge installation process took only a few hours and the cost of the entire project was only about $600,000. Compare that to the millions of dollars and sometimes years it takes for most bridges to be installed.