Savannah's historic Talmadge Bridge, the iconic cable-stayed span on the edge of city's historic district, could be no more.
The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is moving forward with two alternatives: A new tunnel that would run underneath the Savannah River or a completely new bridge with a higher elevation.
Both would result in the demolition of the current structure.
Officials with the state agency also noted that they would need about a decade or more to replace the span over the vital shipping corridor, an effort dubbed the "Savannah River Crossing Project."
GDOT said the impetus for the plan is the Talmadge Bridge's current height has begun to limit the number of ships that can pass through Savannah's port.
While speaking at a public meeting in the city May 20, Kyle Collins, a GDOT communications and marketing strategist, explained that when large vessels pass underneath the span, the clearance between the top of the ship and the underside of the bridge is only a few feet.
"[The ships'] antennas get pretty close to touching the bottom of the bridge," he said.
As a result, the bridge's limitations are hurting Savannah's economy, Collins added.
His comments were echoed by GDOT Commissioner Russell McMurry, who told members of the Georgia Transportation Board in mid-May that the state needs to move ahead with the bridge replacement.
He noted that one of the largest cargo ships currently calling on East Coast ports, the Marco Polo, has visited Savannah twice in the past year and barely cleared the bridge each time.
On one of those sailings, the vessel's communications antennas brushed the bridge's underside, he explained. The Talmadge's roadway, which carries U.S. Highway 17/Ga. 404 Spur over the river, stands 185 ft. above the water at high tide.
Ships significantly larger than the Marco Polo — with superstructures reaching 220 ft. above the waterline — have entered worldwide service in recent years.
GDOT to Present New Crossing Path Next Year
Until recently, GDOT had seven different options for either raising or replacing the structure before narrowing the list down to the current pair of alternatives.
At the state Transportation Board, McMurry and other GDOT officials said they will recommend a path for a new river crossing in fall 2025, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
From there, they will secure permits and funding for the project ahead of building the replacement, likely either a new, higher bridge or a tunnel under the river. Construction will take an additional nine to 11 years.
"A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, and we're taking a couple of steps here," McMurry told board members. "When it's time, we're not starting at zero, we're already on the path."
In the interim, GDOT has a short-term plan to bring in Kiewit Infrastructure South, a Peachtree City, Ga.-based contractor, to replace the bridge's cables — which are nearing the end of their life span — with shorter supports that could provide an additional 20 ft. of clearance.
That project will begin in early 2025 and is expected to be completed in 2028.
More Than Two Dozen Options Whittled Down to Two
The state transportation agency has been studying and planning the Talmadge Bridge replacement since Griff Lynch, CEO of the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA), called for the structure's removal in 2018 due to concerns about the ability of next-generation cargo ships to access port terminals located upriver from the span's height.
The Journal-Constitution noted that the process to replace the bridge originally started with a feasibility study that explored a total of 27 replacement options. The report went public in December and received broad attention, particularly for the price tags of its recommendations: $1.17 billion for a new, 230-ft.-high bridge and $2 billion a two-tube tunnel.
GDOT later introduced the project to federal transportation officials in March, and Savannah leaders in April. A public comment period began earlier in May and stretches through June 6, the Atlanta newspaper reported.
Public engagement will continue through the summer and fall, with GDOT officials meeting with neighborhood associations and environmental groups. and other stakeholders. Project manager Chandra Brown said GDOT will use those responses to narrow the focus to a "single preferred alternative" and solicit public feedback on that option in fall 2025.
Engagement with city residents and businesses is vital given the potential for long-term disruptions caused by the project, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson told the Journal-Constitution. Construction would affect densely populated areas, including the west end of the busy riverfront and nearby residential neighborhoods.
"Savannah is greatly affected no matter when they do it because there's not a lot of landing space for a bridge or where they want to go underground with a tunnel," he said. "I hope that more-than-adequate time and attention are attributed to addressing the potential impacts and that GDOT will work with the city to minimize those impacts."
The Georgia Ports Authority operates the third-busiest port in the United States and currently has two cargo container terminals — with a third under construction — on the upriver side of the span, meaning ships must pass beneath the bridge when arriving and departing the port.
GPA facilities support 561,000 jobs and contribute $59 billion annually to the state's gross domestic product, according to a study by the University of Georgia.
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