• GDOT has closed the Coffee Road Bridge for safety reasons due to significant damage.
• Construction of a new, wider bridge is scheduled to begin in April 2025. Work is expected to be completed by summer 2026.
• During bridge construction, McKinnon Road will serve as the primary detour route.
• Watch the video to learn how the closure is affecting their daily lives.

PROGRAMME SCRIPT

I am standing in front of the now closed Coffee Road Bridge, which was closed after a routine inspection revealed a serious problem.

I explain the specific problem that led to the closure and what’s next for the neighbors.

The Coffee Road Bridge has stood the test of time… since 1959.

Neighbors here know it is an important connection between Thomasville and Barwick.

This includes Donald Davis.

“Sometimes it can be pretty difficult to navigate at night when you’re meeting someone because there’s a curve right ahead and the lights behind the curve blind you really quickly,” Davis said.

Davis lives about a mile and a half from the bridge.

He tells me he uses it daily to get to his shoe store in Thomasville.

The Georgia Department of Transportation is currently working to replace the aging bridge.

Parts of the bridge have fallen apart.

Jay Knight of the Public Works Department told me that they received a call from the Thomas County Emergency Management Center a day after the bridge began to crumble. Neighbors reported a noticeable jolt as vehicles drove over the bridge.

“Tony Bodiford and I came to inspect the bridge that morning and found it was starting to fall. We immediately closed the road,” Knight said.

“As we approached the hill that morning, Jay was standing there motioning for everyone to move. Of course, I knew Jay and stopped and asked him what was going on,” David said.

The old bridge was only 7.5 meters wide and could not handle the traffic.

Knight tells me that the new bridge will be much wider and meet modern safety standards

Construction is scheduled to begin around April 2025 and take about a year.

In the meantime, travelers should use McKinnon Road as a detour while the bridge is being rebuilt.

“It’s not a detour for us. It’s maybe three-quarters of a mile further, so it’s no big deal. But we miss that bridge because we’ve been using it for 20 years,” David said.

The new bridge is scheduled to be completed by summer 2026, with tendering beginning in early 2025. In Thomasville, Layan Abu Tarboush, ABC 27.