The Dawsonville Highway bridge replacement project is on pace for “substantial completion” by September 2022, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Work has been underway for a year on the new two-lane westbound Dawsonville Highway/Ga. 53 bridge over the Chattahoochee River in West Hall, replacing the 64-year-old structure there now.

Motorists can expect ongoing, daily “off-peak” lane closures as overnight work takes place, according to GDOT.

The contractor “has been using these and will continue to do so throughout the life of the contract as needed,” GDOT said in an email to The Times. “They have recently been using overnight closures to set the beams.”

The new bridge will be built between the two existing bridges, with the old bridge torn down after the new bridge is completed and open to traffic.

“It does make for a tight construction footprint,” GDOT said, adding that “it is up to the contractor to manage the construction limits according to their design.”

The overall project costs $20 million.

The bridge’s replacement is part of an ongoing DOT effort to replace structures that date to Lake Lanier’s creation in the 1950s. 

The westbound bridge – also known as the Jerry Jackson Bridge — underwent extensive work in 2016, as the DOT repaired the driving surface, repainted the structure and installed bridge joints.

 Story originally published in sister paper The Gainesville Times.