Barricades on a portion of Post Road between Pool and Ephesus Church roads have now been removed and the road opened to traffic in an area where the roadway collapsed and had to be repaired. The Post Road bridge at Dog River is still closed, officials said. but the road should be open along its entire length within a week. (Sentinel photo by Winston Jones)
A northern segment of the road, from Pool Road to Ephesus Church Road, was reopened Thursday after county crews repaired collapsed roadway which had shut that portion down a month ago. Workers removed barricades and detour signs near the Post Road - Ephesus Church Road intersection and returned the traffic signal there from a flashing mode to full operation.
“The Post Road bridge at Dog River is still closed,” Randy Hulsey, county Department of Transportation (DOT) director, said Friday afternoon. “It will probably be reopened sometime next week, depending on the weather. Contractors are working on it now.”
Hulsey said completion of bridge repairs will open up Post Road for the first time since massive Sept. 21 flooding caused extensive damage.
The record September flood waters also washed out the bridge over Anneewakee Creek on Highway 166. Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) rebuilt the bridge and reopened it to traffic Tuesday. Hulsey said all other county roads, closed due to flood damage, should be reopened within a week, with four exceptions:
• Mason Creek Road at Mobley Creek bridge, near the Cowan Mill Road intersection.
“We’re moving forward with the process of acquiring rights-of-way there to begin the bridge replacement process,” Hulsey said.
He said a bridge replacement and intersection improvement project was about to begin when the flood hit. The county is working to get Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds to apply to the project, he added.
“It will be a bigger bridge, with shoulders and the Cowan Mill Road - Mason Creek Road intersection will be improved,” he said.
• Whitestone subdivision, off Highway 5.
“There’s a developer interest in the location,” he said. “Residents now have an alternate way in and out, so it’s not a public safety issue.”
• West Tyson Road bridge, off Pool Road, in the Villa Rica area.
“It’s a wooden bridge on an unpaved road,” Hulsey said. “FEMA is looking into significant historical issues on the bridge and there’s questions on whether to reopen it.”
• and Union Grove Road.
Hulsey said the road is currently closed except for local traffic because a creek alongside the road has washed some of the road surface away.
“County crews will be moving there shortly,” he said. “They will go in and establish a shoulder area and stabilize the road. If we don’t do something, the creek will move under the road and wash it out. It should take about a week and a half to complete.”
Come on guys, go to work and open the roads...after 6 months anybody can do a small 2 lane bridge!!