Steel bridge deck being replaced 20 feet at a time

  • This is the scene drivers turning onto Bridge Street from Ocoee Street in Copperhill will see for the next several weeks as the steel bridge spanning the Toccoa River gets a new deck and sidewalks.
    This is the scene drivers turning onto Bridge Street from Ocoee Street in Copperhill will see for the next several weeks as the steel bridge spanning the Toccoa River gets a new deck and sidewalks.
  • A crew from Talley Construction was busy beginning work on the steel bridge in McCaysville last week. Bridge Street will be closed for several weeks while the work progresses.
    A crew from Talley Construction was busy beginning work on the steel bridge in McCaysville last week. Bridge Street will be closed for several weeks while the work progresses.
  • The deck of the steel bridge is being removed all the way to the supporting steel.
    The deck of the steel bridge is being removed all the way to the supporting steel.

    The steel bridge spanning the Toccoa River in  McCaysville was closed last week as work started to replace its decking and sidewalks.

    Neither vehicles nor pedestrians will be allowed to cross the bridge until work is finished. Fences have been installed on both ends of the bridge to secure the area.

    Bridge Street is closed at West Market Street on the McCaysville side of the river, and at the alley between the Yellowbird Coffee Shop and JJ’s Copper Basin Lounge on the Tennessee side.

    McCaysville Police Chief Michael Earley, who is overseeing the construction, said the decking is being removed and replaced one 20-foot section at a time.

    Talley Construction officials have told city officials they hope to have the work completed by the second or third week in March.

    McCaysville City Council members voted unanimously for the project, Mayor Thomas Seabolt saying it “had to be done” due to rotting wood. One large hole had already appeared in the bridge’s deck.