Bridge replacements and striping to come in areas of trail outside of the city limits

The County Commission voted to approve a grant opportunity for helping improve and make repairs to the sections of the Silver Comet Trail bridging and for full striping of the full section of 36 miles that goes from the Alabama state line to Paulding County.

Public Works Director Dion Senn said the county additionally plans to replace decking on bridges and boardwalks through portions of the trail.

Those include a bridge in the stretch between Bethlehem Road and Hendrix Road, a boardwalk overlook in the Hendrix Road area, and the boardwalk that connects a portion of the trail along Highway 278 heading into the Rockmart area.

Hopes are that full replacements aren’t needed for these spans over the trail. Senn said they were confident about the structural integrity of the bridges and boardwalks.

“We’re going to look at what repairs need to be made,” Senn said. “As long as the structure of the bridges are good, we are mainly looking to replace the walking deck for the time being.”

The goal of the county is to spend as little as possible on the project since the approved grant comes with a 20% match required for the county utilize the funds from the state.

The county can get upward of $400,000 for the bridge replacements and striping, but they are looking to spend less than that since a 20% match would require $80,000 of local taxpayer money to match at the maximum level.

Bridge replacements are coming for portions of the Cedartown section of the Silver Comet Trail. The City has already received the go-ahead to use grant money from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources that will allow for replacement of bridges and repairs of the trail in the area around the Polk School District Central Office and the section running in the area around Canal Street before passing underneath.

City Manager Edward Guzman also noted that repairs to the trail are being made around South College Street where foundation issues under the concrete sections are going to be replaced.

Those jobs still have to be placed out for bid, which Guzman expected to come later this year.