- GDOT shut down the Coffee Road bridge due to safety issues caused by significant damage.
- Construction is set to start on a new, wider bridge in April 2025 . Work is expected to be complete by summer 2026.
- McKinnon Road will serve as the primary detour route during the bridge construction.
- Watch the video hear from local residents about how the closure is impacting their daily lives.
BROADCAST SCRIPT
I’m standing in front of the now-closed Coffee Road bridge, which was shut down after a routine check revealed a serious issue.
I'm breaking down the specific issue that led to its closure and what’s next for neighbors
The Coffee Road bridge has stood the test of time...since 1959.
Neighbors here know it as a crucial link between Thomasville and Barwick.
That includes Donald Davis.
"Sometimes at night it can be kind of tough to travel when you're meeting somebody because there's a curve right before so when you come around that curve, the lights blind you real quick," Said Davis.
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.
Now, the Georgia Department of Transportation is working to replace the aging bridge.
Pieces of the bridge have fallen apart.
Jay Knight from Public Works tells me they got a call from Thomas County Dispatch a day after it starting falling apart. Neighbors reported a noticeable bump when vehicles went over the bridge
“Myself and Tony Bodiford came out to inspect the bridge that morning and found that it had started falling. We immediately closed the road,” said Knight.
“When we approached the hill that morning, Jay was standing there motioning everybody to move. Of course, I knew Jay and I stopped and asked him what was going on,” said David.
The old bridge was just 24.5 feet wide and couldn’t handle the traffic it was getting.
Knight tells me the new bridge will be much wider and built to meet modern safety standards
Construction should begin around April 2025 and will take around a year.
In the meantime, people passing through the area should use McKinnon Road as a detour while the bridge is being rebuilt.
“For us, it’s not out of the way. It’s maybe 3/4s of a mile extra, so it’s not a big deal. But we do miss that bridge because we’ve traveled on it for 20 years,” said David.
The new bridge is expected to be completed by summer 2026, with bidding starting in early 2025. In Thomasville, Layan Abu Tarboush, ABC 27.
