The reopening of the Powers Ferry Road bridge along Buckhead’s Chastain Park has been delayed from spring to “later this summer,” according to the city of Atlanta.
Weather and complicated relocations of utility lines are behind the delay, according to the city, and a specific reopening date has yet to be determined. Similar reasons were given for a delayed construction start, which began last fall rather than last summer.
“We extend our sincerest apologies to the Powers Ferry community for the continued inconvenience associated with the bridge closure and construction delays,” said Josh Rowan, the general manager of the city’s Renew Atlanta bond and TSPLOST programs, in a press release. “Despite our best efforts, the construction team was not able to recoup construction time lost to weather and relocation difficulties faced during the fall and winter months. The bridge will not be reopened this spring as originally anticipated.”
The press release said the city is considering ways to speed up construction, including longer daylight work hours on both weekdays and weekends and using “fast-curing” materials that quickly turn solid, similar to those used by the Georgia Department of Transportation in rapidly reopening a segment of I-85 that collapsed in a 2017 fire.
The heavily used bridge over Nancy Creek dated to 1948 and is currently in the demolition phase. Detours have made Buckhead’s neighborhood commuter traffic more complicated than usual.