Photo: Courtesy of Cobb County spokesman Ross Cavitt.The driver of a U-Haul truck ran into the steel warning beam that protects a 145-year-old covered bridge on Concord Road over Nickajack Creek in Cobb County, Georgia, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The driver received a citation and will be charged for the estimated $800 repair of the warning beam.
The 7-foot warning beams with radar-triggered flashing warning signs that operate on both sides of the bridge were installed in 2009 to protect the bridge because it was getting hit so often.
Crews are working to repair the beams from the latest impact. “They’ve become so experienced at it, they work like a NASCAR pit crew,” the county said in a post on its Facebook page.
The historic covered bridge was renovated last fall to replace its decaying siding and shingles. Structural supports were also added because the bridge was beginning to lean. It reopened in December 2017. The overhaul took four months and cost $802,000 of Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds.
