While not in danger of closing or categorically unsafe, a group of Bulloch County bridges did not meet sufficiency requirements during the most recent round of inspections by transportation officials. Four rural bridges, two surrounding Statesboro and another pair south of Brooklet, were deemed “structurally deficient” by inspectors, according to a Georgia Department of Transportation report submitted to Bulloch County leadership earlier this year. The bridges falling below the sufficiency mark — based on a series of ratings that can give a cumulative score of 100 — are located on County Road 927 (over Ash Branch, 11.6 miles southeast of Brooklet), Old River Road (over Ogeechee River overflow, 13.6 miles southeast of Brooklet), Akins Pond Road (over Mill Creek, 4.9 miles northwest of Statesboro), and Cypress Lake Road (over Dry Branch, 5 miles southwest of Statesboro).The state department is required to inspect all bridges every two years, but local governments are most often responsible for repairing or replacing them.
Just how safe are Bulloch's bridges?
Inspections find 4 deficient, but not unsafe; most exceed standards