A well-known bridge will remain closed until best safety precautions are chosen

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – Construction is finished on a well-known local bridge. However, it will stay closed until further notice.

Olive Road bridge is still closed while traffic engineers determine the best safety precautions.

In a statement, Richmond County Traffic Engineer John Ussery said,” The bridge work done by the railroad is complete. However, the project only strengthened the bridge but did not change its height due to numerous factors. Olive Road will continue to remain closed as we work through this issue with the railroad.”

“We’re going to have to put up a warning, some type of warning to alert the driver to get them to where they are paying attention,” said Wayne Guilfoyle, Super District 10 Commissioner.

There are many different alerts to tell drivers about the low bridge, but CSX and the Augusta Engineering Department are trying to find a permanent fix for this issue. They considered deepening the road under the bridge, raising the bridge, or routing a road around it, but none of those options was feasible.

“There are only a certain amount of signages, devices that’s even approved that we can put up in the area.” Said Jordan Johnson, Commissioner of District 1.

A member of a nearby church says some people in his congregation struggle with this inconvenience.

“They don’t know until they get right there that they can’t come right to this building that’s just a stone’s throw away from this bridge. That means they have to go all the way back and go wither Kissingbower Road or go all the way around and go down Wrightboro. Which means they come down by Josey, which is about a 12-minute drive extra,” said Grady Allen, church member.

District 1 Commissioner Jordan Johnson says leaders are considering the closure and working closely with CSX to resolve this.

“I can definitely understand the concerns about emergency vehicles having easy access from one side of the bridge to the other, and those concerns are definitely at the top of our minds,” said Johnson.

People we spoke with said they are worried about emergency vehicles having to take a different route, which could lead to longer response times.

“As well as the firetruck, the ambulances, the police cars. So, it’s going to take longer to assist anybody,” said Guilfoyle.

We will keep you updated on when Olive Road could reopen.

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