Savannah Bridge Project Supports Fast-Growing Port
By Irwin Rapoport
CORRESPONDENT
The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is undertaking a substantial investment with its U.S. 17/State Route 404 Spur Bridge Major Maintenance Project, which is upgrading a key bridge spanning the Savannah River to
extend its lifespan, as well as allow more efficient access to the Port of Savannah.
Led by Georgia DOT’s P3 Division, this first-of-its-kind project for the state is being delivered through a Construction Management/General Contractor (CM/GC) approach. In late December 2023, the agency awarded its first-ever CM/GC contract to Kiewit Infrastructure South Co.
Nearly $22 million worth of upgrades will soon take flight at the Middle Georgia Regional Airport in Macon, highlighted by a uniquelydesigned new terminal honoring the area’s rich musical tradition.
World famous recording artists, including Little Richard, Otis Redding, the Allman Brothers Band and Jason Aldean, have all lived in and around the city.
After conducting a three-month search in February 2025, the Macon-Bibb County
The project will replace the existing cables, bridge bearings and joints as part of planned maintenance for the cablestayed bridge, as well as raise the bridge profile to obtain additional vertical clearance within the shipping channel. The bridge’s original design allowed for the replacement of the cables as a standard maintenance practice.
Commissioners selected Sheridan Construction in Macon to build a one-of-a-kind $13.4 million guitar-shaped terminal building at the airport, located 9 mi. south of town.
According to WMAZ-TV in Macon, County Director of Aviation Doug Faour wants the unique design of the airport terminal to start and end each traveler’s visit to the city on a “high note.”
“I’ve been involved with the airport since 2012 and the things that are happening here were
dreams … that I never thought would come true,” he told the news station. “It is a very important gateway to our community. We look at this project not just as an airport project, but a community project.”
Faour added that Middle Georgia Regional Airport is currently in the first phase of a 700-ft. runway extension that would allow bigger planes to land. When completed, the construction will end up expanding the landing strip to 7,100 ft.
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Raising Bridge Deck Will Accomodate Larger Ships at Port
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The CM/GC team will work with GDOT and the designer of record (DOR), Parsons Transportation Group, which was awarded the contract in August 2023 to determine the approach to performing the required bridge maintenance and cable replacements.
The $189 million programmed investment covers all services for delivery, including project oversight, design, environmental clearance, material acquisition and construction. Preconstruction services began in the first quarter of 2024, and collaboration between the DOR and CM/GC is ongoing as Georgia DOT prepares for construction in early 2026.
As the construction manager, Kiewit is providing preconstruction insight into the means and methods required to complete the work.
Once the project enters the construction phase, the CM/GC team responsibilities shift to that of a general contractor, which entails constructing the project, providing resources to execute the work efficiently and collaborating to resolve issues and manage stakeholder coordination.
As the nation’s fastest-growing port, according to the Georgia Port Authority, the Port of Savannah is a significant economic engine for the Savannah region, Georgia and the nation.
Potentially stifling future growth, however, is the port’s accessibility for larger ships. Those ships, which are becoming increasingly common on the world’s oceans, are limited by the existing 185-foot clearance of the U.S. 17/SR 404 Spur Bridge.
“The Port of Savannah is the largest and fastest-growing single-container terminal in North America,” said Kyle Collins, a GDOT communications program manager. ”Annually, Georgia’s deepwater ports support more than 600,000 jobs and $170 billion to the state’s economy. In order for our state to remain competitive and continue to advance transportation infrastructure, the department has a variety of innovative mobility solutions ongoing with this major maintenance project and concurrent long-term
replacement concept development, so that Georgia remains a top state for business without compromising regional connectivity.”
The current cable-stay U.S. 17/SR 404 Spur Bridge (Talmadge Bridge), which is 8,852 ft. long and two lanes in each direction, was designed and constructed in the late 1980s; it opened to traffic in 1991. It handles an average of 22,000 vehicles daily, with nearly 20 percent being trucks moving between Georgia and South Carolina.
The proposed major maintenance bridge project activities would raise the center portion of the bridge deck between the expansion joints in a two-phased approach.
Phase one will include cable replacement as the original design of the bridge considered the potential for one-by-one cable replacement under traffic. The replacement cables will have the ability to be shortened (or tightened) with jacks that accommodate the proper length and force to continue to safely support the bridge.
Phase Two is based on raising the bridge. Once the cables have been replaced and adjusted, the CM/GC team will begin the process of further shortening the cables in a carefully engineered and controlled process to revise the bridge’s profile. The cables at the north and south ends of the bridge will get minimal adjustments, whereas the cables nearest the
center of the river will be adjusted the most.
Ongoing engineering design includes calculating the incremental shortening of each cable and the adjustment sequence to prevent the overloading of any bridge component during the raising operation. While the work is being performed, the force in the cables and the bridge’s profile will be carefully monitored.
“The incremental changes will barely be noticed while the work is being performed,” Collins said. “It will be like watching grass grow. After the lawn is mown, the grass continues to grow and, during the first few days, this growth isn’t noticeable. But after a week or so, you can tell there has been a change. Over time, the bridge will be raised and motorists and, indirectly, shipping vessels navigating under the bridge, will see the change.”
Asked whether the construction would impact port operations, Collins said, “There are no significant impacts expected for port operations outside of normal coordination to access some of the bridge piers.”
The project is considered an interim solution: Georgia DOT has a concurrent long-term replacement effort known as the U.S. 17/SR 404 Spur Bridge at Savannah River Crossing Project in concept development. The Georgia Ports Authority, a state authority, funded the 2022 Savannah River Crossing Feasibility Study that evaluated future, long-term options to replace the bridge.
As part of the study, 27 potential alternatives in six categories were identified and analyzed. Two alternatives — a tunnel and a new bridge in the same location — were identified as feasible for further development.
GDOT is in the early project development and environmental processes for the long-term replacement plans. The agency hosted an initial round of public comment with an open house in summer 2024 and recently launched a second public comment period running through March 27 on the two proposed concept tracks.
(All photos courtesy of the Georgia Department of Transportation.)
Terminal, New Hangars Part of Macon Airport Project
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More than $5 million from the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and an additional $1.8 million from the Macon-Bibb County also will build more hangars, extend East Drive and replace the airport’s electrical vault.
“We look to do the electrical vault as soon as possible because we need to get that relocated,” Faour said. “We’re replacing it because it’s old. It’s a very important piece of what we do at the airport because it provides all of the airfilled lighting at night and supplies other navigational aids.”
In addition, the construction of tee-hangars (enclosed structures designed to hold aircraft in protective storage) and box hangers (built to accommodate larger planes) will meet the need for more space due to the airport’s growth.
Plans call for the new hangars to provide room for nearly
20 more airplanes, Faour said.
“We do have a waiting list of pilots (and) aircraft owners that want to bring their airplanes here, and we need room to expand and grow,” he added. “It would add a 25 percent increase in the capacity for based aircraft here.”
The airport’s continuing growth also has led the county to construct a new air traffic control tower, slated for completion late 2025, WMAZ reported.
Extending East Drive is a necessity for Faour’s team to gain access to property on the southeast end of the airport that is currently undeveloped. The extension will welcome private development of hangers for pilots looking to construct their own.
“The airport is rapidly changing,” he said. “[Macon Mayor Lester Miller] mentioned in a speech that he gave a
little over a year ago [that] when you come back to this airport in three to five years, you won’t recognize it, and he’s 100 percent accurate. We have a lot that’s happening so we’re very proud of what we’re doing.”
He told the Macon TV station that he hopes to complete the old terminal’s demolition and start construction in May 2025 on the new corporate FBO terminal, adding that all of the airport’s projects currently under way are expected to be finished in 2027.
The new airport projects will be paid for by the MaconBibb Industrial Authority Fund, which received nearly $4 million from the county’s 2018 SPLOST in January 2025. While it does not solely rely on SPLOST funds, the county is using some of its remaining monies to build new facilities around the area before the SPLOST expires.
The U.S. 17/State Route 404 Spur Bridge at the Port of Savannah will be repaired and its deck raised in 2026.
BRIDGE
