Construction on new Houlihan Bridge in Savannah nears completion, traffic shifted onto it. Funds allocated for new Augusta interchange on I-20 to address population growth and prevent existing interchanges from failing. Multiple transportation projects across Georgia to benefit from surplus state funding.
Vehicular traffic along Georgia Highway 25 was recently shifted onto the new Houlihan Bridge over the Savannah River in Port Wentworth. The state road connects people looking to travel between the Peach State and South Carolina, just northwest of the Savannah city limits.
The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and its construction partners diverted traffic approximately 0.5 mi. at the approaches to the river in both directions, reported AllOnGeorgia, an online news site based in the southeastern part of the state.
With the bridge now open to vehicular traffic, GDOT said motorists may experience ongoing periodic lane closures while crews complete the final work to the span.
The traffic shift allows work to get under way on demolishing the old structure.
GDOT noted that folks wishing to visit the Houlihan Park Boat Ramp will still be able to access the facility via the new entrance and exit located approximately 0.1 mi to the west.
Similarly, the entrance/exit to the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge at Onslow Island will move farther east for access between the island and bridge. Like the old configuration, there will not be a dedicated turn lane to reach the boat ramp or the island.
AllOnGeorgia said that construction on the new Houlihan Bridge began in the summer of 2022 with crews building the span's substructure in the waterway. In just over 18 months, according to GDOT, the new structure will open for the traveling public.
It replaces the 70-year-old James P. Houlihan Bridge — one of the oldest in Georgia, and the last working swing span bridge in the state — with a taller structure that provides more waterway clearance. Additionally, the new bridge will have wider shoulders designed for modern passenger and commercial vehicles.
"This is a major milestone for a complex project supporting significant commercial vehicle traffic and many distribution centers in the area," said GDOT Project Manager Trevor Brown. "Local stakeholders and the community have been patiently working with us during the construction of the new bridge, and we're excited to get motorists onto the new structure."
In addition, the new Houlihan Bridge was bundled with the replacement of the neighboring Ga. 25 bridge over the Middle River.
GDOT is building both new bridges on off-set alignments approximately 50 ft. to the north of and parallel to the existing bridge alignments.
Currently, GDOT's construction partners are working on the Middle River span's substructure and will set girders for the new bridge over the coming months, according to AllOnGeorgia.
The overall project completion is scheduled for the end of 2025.
New Interchange Near Augusta to Benefit From Funding Surplus
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp recently announced that he and the state Legislature plan to allocate $1.5 million in surplus state funds to go toward construction of a new interchange on Interstate 20 at U.S. Highway 221/Louisville Road in rural Columbia County, west of Augusta.
The project comes in the wake of a 310 percent rise in the area's population since 1990, according to the GDOT. The new interchange should prevent the nearby existing interchanges from failing, which is predicted to occur over the next 10 to 20 years.
The interchange scouting project is estimated to cost $4 million, the Augusta Chronicle reported July 23, and is proposed to be funded in Fiscal Year 2026.
GDOT representatives told the newspaper that it is too soon to predict the project's impact on area traffic, nor could the agency give details on its construction plans. In addition, the transportation department did not confirm the new interchange's total estimated cost.
In a social media post, Columbia County Commissioner Alison Couch wrote that the highway project is currently in the concept phase, which includes studying topography, utility placement, potential property acquisitions, environmental concerns, and costs — all of which are being carried out by GDOT.
Couch added, however, that the project is estimated to cost $170 million and only $4 million was funded, leaving state officials to secure the remaining $166 million. She confirmed that the new interchange's timeline puts it at 15 years into the future.
In 2006, the Chronicle reported the Louisville Road interchange was part of the Augusta Regional Transportation Study's 25-year plan, a wish list of GDOT projects.
The local funding will come from a one-time $1.5 billion investment of surplus funds in transportation infrastructure across Georgia, announced by Gov. Brian Kemp on July 18. The new monies will double the state's funding to cities and counties for local transportation projects as well as raise spending for GDOT's capital construction program by 58 percent, according to reporting from Capitol Beat in Atlanta.
"Over the last few years, we've welcomed unprecedented job creation to all regions of the Peach State, and this funding will ensure our already reliable infrastructure network can meet the needs of that incredible growth," Kemp noted in a news release. "In the months and years ahead, hardworking Georgians will see further improvements to the roads and bridges they drive each day."
Other projects earmarked for a chunk of that funding include the widening of I-16 in Chatham and Effingham counties, expanding the toll lanes along I-75 south of Atlanta, and resurfacing state highways across Georgia, Capitol Beat noted.
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