This bridge over White Oak Creek in Camden County is deteriorating, the state says. | Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Published on September 5, 2023 at 1:13 pm
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A plan to replace three old bridges on U.S. 17 in Camden County is angering some residents, who say the many months of road closures needed to do the work could force them to take up to a 30-minute detour and delay police and firefighters.
But a Georgia Department of Transportation officials says there have been some “unfortunate misunderstandings” in regard to timelines and other factors related to the projects, which are set to start late this year or early next.
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State transportation officials first proposed replacing the three aging spans near the town of Waverly in 2018. In a newsletter in February, Camden County Administrator Shawn Boatright confirmed that the Georgia Department of Transportation was “in the process” of replacing the bridges over White Oak Creek, Little Waverly Creek, and Waverly Creek on the north end of the county.
“Due to this construction, U.S. Highway 17 will be shut down in this area with traffic detoured on other state routes,” the newsletter stated. “A detour map will be shared publicly once received from GDOT.”
County resident Steve Weinkle issued a pointed email to Boatright, with multiple concerns that he and other residents have about the bridge replacement projects and the three-year timeframe. One concerns the 25-mile-plus detour residents on state roads and Interstate 95 to get around the closed bridges, plus the extra hour of school bus travel on top of potential delays in emergency response, he said.
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Weinkle also wrote a lengthy email to County Commissioner Ben Casey, after reviewing state documents covering the bridge replacement.
“The county was not sufficiently attentive nor prepared to argue the case of Camden citizens who will be harmed by the state-planned detours,” Weinkle wrote. “Once again, Camden citizens have been excluded from decisions impacting them since no member of the public or press was allowed to attend the August 18 meeting in Jesup between GDOT and county officials. More dog and pony shows won’t cut it.”
All three bridges date to 1955, said transportation department spokeswoman Jill Nagel. The projects are slated to go out to bid in December 2023. Since the work will be done one bridge at a time, she said, residents’ claims that the work will take three years is incorrect.
“The replacement of these nearly 70-year-old bridges is critical. While we realize any extended closure is an inconvenience to area residents, the length of closure recently reported by some outlets is not accurate,” she said. “The three new bridges’ construction is coordinated so that no more than one bridge is closed to traffic at any time, which allows residents access. U.S. 17 will be closed at each bridge location during construction.”
A report from the Department of Transportation on the bridges at Little Waverly and Waverly Creek said their substructures showed signs of concrete deterioration and cracking in all piles. “Replacement of these bridges is recommended,” the report stated in August 2018.
The White Oak Creek bridge is 5 miles north of Woodbine, and the estimated cost of its replacement is more than $3 million, Nagel said. Replacing the bridges at Little Waverly Creek and Waverly Creek north of Woodbine would cost more than $5 million, she said.
The Department of Transportation says the White Oak Creek bridge detour will last a maximum of 210 days. The detour for the bridge over Waverly Creek will be for a maximum of 150 days. The detour for the bridge over Little Waverly Creek should run for a maximum of 210 days.
In letters to county officials, Weinkle brought up several issues.
First, he wrote that the Camden County Sheriff’s Office stated that call response times will increase by up to a half-hour, with similar delays possible for Camden County Fire Rescue. He said the Camden County School District would have to add two bus routes due to the detours, and students could face up to an extra hour on the bus, which he called “simply unacceptable.”
“From the documents I have in my hands, I see total administrative blindness to the Camden citizens and families who will personally suffer from the extended delays for a fire engine, ambulance or deputy’s response to their emergency,” Weinkle wrote.
He also wrote that residents would burn extra gasoline to get around the detours.
Weinkle told Jacksonville Today that all he is doing is forcing the county and Department of Transportation to do the right thing and to be accountable, which includes respecting his neighbors. All three bridges are within a 4-mile section of U.S. 17, and each closure will stop all thru traffic, he said. So does the state plan the closures to occur over three summers when school buses will not be affected? he asked.
Weinkle said the state should reconsider building a single lane temporary bridge beside the old bridges with traffic controls.
“This would be more expensive, of course, but allow the route to remain open,” Weinkle said. “U.S. 17 is a federal and state highway. Those governments should not impose its costs on the citizens of a small county.”
Cost is not the issue with the temporary spans, Nagel said. In 2018, Department of Transportation staff found that temporary bridges would create “significant environmental impacts” to nearby salt marshes, and there is not much room to spare to build them.
“(There are) … constructability difficulties with restricted workspace due to existing Georgia Coast Rail Trail parallel to the projects and a boat ramp managed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and a parking lot serving them that must remain open during construction,” she said.
Yet Weinkle said the department has refused to reveal any environmental studies to Camden County or the public.
“Maybe they can’t risk our reviewing their work?” Weinkle said.
Nagel said the Department of Transportation takes “great pains to involve and educate the public” about proposed projects and temporary construction effects. The public involvement process for these projects was held in 2017 and 2018 during the concept phase, she said.
“This public information meeting was held to provide the public with … an opportunity for the public to comment on all aspects of the proposed projects,” Nagel said. “The public comment period was open from October 25 through November 8, 2018. Two comments were received from the public, which did not result in any changes to the off-site detour.”
