Courtland Street Bridge Closes For Six Months For Rebuild
Courtland Street will be completely closed to pedestrian and vehicle traffic between Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and Gilmer Street into October.
Courtesy of GDOT
Heads up if your commute takes you around the Georgia State University campus or the state capitol. The Courtland Street bridge will be closed for 6 months for a complete overhaul.
When the viaduct was built about 110 years ago, it was the longest in Atlanta. Now, it’s time for a ground-up rebuild.
“There are going to be wider lanes for buses who are offloading students and people who are traveling into this area. There are going to be wider sidewalks for student use. So, it’s not just a rebuild, it is a redesign,” said Natalie Dale, Georgia Department of Transportation spokeswoman.
The project will replace all 28 spans of the bridge that cross existing MARTA and CSX rail lines and Decatur Street.
Courtland Street will be completely closed to pedestrian and vehicle traffic between Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and Gilmer Street into October.
GDOT has set up two vehicle detours: one for cars, one for cars and buses. They’ll also post detour signs for pedestrians.
Dale says the agency inspects all its bridges every two years and had been eyeing the Courtland Street viaduct for repairs for some time.
The approach of Super Bowl LIII was an additional motivator to get the work done.
“When you have an event the size of the Super Bowl coming to your city, you look at projects that you can accelerate or programmed for that time that you can get going,” Dale said.
GDOT says the 1,546 foot bridge cost just over $126,000 when it was first built in the early 20th century. The new bridge will cost $25 million
Dale says the 25 million dollar project would normally take 2 years, but it’s being expedited … so there’s less disruption to the G-S-U campus.
And, of course, the state wants Courtland Street back open before Super Bowl 53 comes to town next year.
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