Union Hill Road between Hasty Trail and Spearman Lane will be closed to through traffic beginning July 26 for the replacement of the bridge over Canton Creek.
The closure is expected to end in late January 2023, pending weather delays. A detour utilizing Ga. 20 and East Cherokee Drive will be posted for the duration of construction.
With school beginning Aug. 1, Cherokee County has been in contact with the transportation department for the Cherokee County School District to address any bus routes affected accordingly.
“We do our best to do road projects in a way that’s as least invasive as possible, however, that is not always feasible due to many factors including the length of time a project takes,” said Community Development Agency Director Brantley Day. “Many paving projects that take a couple of weeks per road are typically done in the summertime to avoid interference with school transportation, but bridge projects are much more involved. We ask for your patience as we provide a much safer bridge over Canton Creek.”
The county has taken an aggressive approach to replacing bridges identified as substandard. While bridges have a long lifespan, some of the older bridges in the county can be dangerous.
“The logistics of preparing to replace a bridge is years in the making and a daunting endeavor – securing the funding, designing the project, acquisition of property (right-of-way), relocating utilities, environmental factors, developing safe detour routes, procuring a qualified vendor, and completing pre-construction coordination,” Day said. “Once we can greenlight a bridge replacement project, we must move forward as quickly as possible without delay.”
Two bridges on Union Hill Road were identified as needing to be replaced, and engineering was completed in 2018 for the bridges over Mill Creek near Marvin Land Lane and over Canton Creek near Hasty Trail. Completing two bridge replacements on Union Hill Road at once was not feasible due to the road closures involved. The bridge over Mill Creek was constructed in 2020.
Right-of-way acquisition for the Canton Creek bridge began two years ago, with the last acquisition occurring earlier this year. While construction will begin at the end of July, county staff has been working in-house and with contractors on design, utility relocation and site preparation in the meantime with the project now getting the greenlight for construction. A delay to begin construction until July was due to restrictions related to the presence of the Cherokee darter fish. No construction can take place between March 1 and June 30 annually where the protected species is present.
The $1.6 million construction project, utilizing Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds, was awarded to Georgia Bridge and Concrete LLC by the Board of Commissioners in April. The bridge replacement includes an upgraded and more modern bridge structure with 12-foot travel lanes and 8-foot shoulders.
Residents with questions about the detour should contact Cherokee County Roadway Capital Program office at 678-493-6077.
