MACON, Ga. — Danny Slaughter, who lives off Bass Road in North Macon, told 13WMAZ in November about how dangerous it is to cross over the bridge near Rivoli Drive.
"Right now, it's treacherous, people get hurt. We close the bridge, we're creating a problem to solve another, and the problem we're solving is much greater than the problem we have closing the bridge," Slaughter said.
Bibb County is putting his words into action.
Engineering Director Charles Brooks says crews will shut down the bridge Thursday morning to repair the missing guardrail after a truck crashed into it over the summer.
"There won't be any barriers there. The guardrails and all will stay the same. The bridge won't be widening yet, but we're just going to repair that guardrail because it's very, very dangerous," said Brooks. "If somebody were to go over it now they would just go all the way over the railroad tracks."
It'll take about a week to finish. 13WMAZ reached back out to Slaughter to hear his reaction to the announcement.
"That made us feel good. It made us feel like something is being done about our problem, and maybe we'll get to the point where it won't drive me crazy anymore," Slaughter said.
A planned detour will have drivers using Old Forsyth Road to get between Rivoli Drive and Forsyth Road.
"There will be detour signs up to tell you which way to go. You can go to the west and around that way for both sides," Brooks said.
"A temporary inconvenience if it does something good in the long run is really worth it. It'll be inconvenient for us...we'll have to leave a few minutes early, but that's just what we'll have to do to get something done and have it done right," Slaughter said.
"It's been a little while and I appreciate everyone's patience. We've been working as hard as we can," Brooks said.
The county is using $100,000 in emergency funds to cover the repairs.
Bibb County crews will shut down the bridge starting at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 10.
The Georgia Department of Transportation says it has a plan to replace the bridge and make it wider. That project could begin as early as 2022.
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