The Fannin County Board of Commissioners voted to sign a Memorandum of Agreement with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) in order to keep Shallowford Bridge from being demolished.
This decision came during a meeting Tuesday, October 22, when Chairman Stan Helton explained that GDOT had given the county the option to either demolish the bridge or save it.
Construction of a new two-lane bridge is scheduled to begin in the Spring of 2021.
“What GDOT has asked the county to do is sign this Memorandum of Agreement where they basically hand-off the maintenance and liability of this bridge to the county,” Helton said. “If we do not agree or sign this memorandum then what will happen is GDOT will demo the bridge, not necessarily with explosives, but will take the bridge down and this old 101-year-old bridge that’s part of Fannin County history will be lost forever.”
“Overwhelmingly, the citizens have said they want us to save this bridge, so that’s the path that we have been proceeding on,” Helton said.
Post One Commissioner Earl Johnson agreed stating, “It’s going to cost money to maintain it, but I think it’s money well spent compared to the alternative, which is not having it anymore. I can’t remember a time somebody didn’t refer to Shallowford Bridge as Shallowford Bridge. I’d hate to go up there and not see it anymore.”
While the Georgia Department of Transportation is funding the completion of the new bridge, the county will be responsible for any decisions made with Shallowford Bridge in the future.
“There’s no doubt we will stop vehicle traffic, that’s the purpose of the new bridge,” Helton said. “There will have to be a determination if we want to keep the bridge open to light pedestrian traffic or completely close it off and just keep it looking attractive. That will be a decision we have to make in the future.”