By Alicia B. Hill

The Georgia Department of Transportation announced Monday that it had awarded five contracts in West Central Georgia, including two projects in Troup County.

Comanche Construction of Georgia was awarded a contract for $4.9 million to rehabilitate bridges at six locations on Interstate 85 within Troup County, according to a GDOT press release.

According to District Three Communications Officer Penny Brooks, bridges on both the northbound and southbound lanes over Long Cane Creek, State Route 18 and Flat Creek will be renovated as part of the project. The project is part of a statewide effort to rehabilitate bridges to account for modern traffic and for four of the projects the work will mean temporary lane closures near the bridges.

“We are looking at lane closures, but they will only be single lane closures,” Brooks said. “So, we are not going to close an entire bridge and detour people around the site. They’ll close one of the lanes in the northbound or southbound lanes and then merge everybody on there.”

Brooks said that there will be signage warning of the lane closures for two exits prior to the bridge being rehabilitated in order to make it possible for drivers to take an alternate route if desired.

However, the rehabilitation of the bridge over State Route 18 in West Point may force some detours, according to Brooks.

“There will be one instance of a detour, and that would be basically the exit and entrance ramps to and from I-85 over State Route 18,” Brooks said. “When we get to those exit ramps, we will have to tell people not to use them, to use an alternate exit.”

Brooks said that construction will take place during the daytime, nighttime, weekdays and weekends. The bridges project is expected to be completed by the start of spring 2021.

Ozark Striping Company of Ozark, Alabama, was awarded a $6.4 million contract to upgrade and install signage on Interstate 85 at various locations from the Alabama state line to the CR 548/Collinsworth Road interchange in Palmetto, according to a press release from GDOT. Brooks said the project will cover all signage in the right-of-way, including both overhead and post-mounted signage.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

The project bids were received on Nov. 22, and the projects were awarded to the lowest qualified bidders on Dec. 6, according to a GDOT press release.

According to the press release, GDOT will share information on schedules, lane closures and detours in advance of construction activities.

According to Brooks, up to date information on lane closures and other aspects of the projects will be shared through local media outlets and on GDOT’s social media accounts on Facebook (Georgia DOT – West) and Twitter (@GDOTWest).