LOCAL

Sardis bridge closed after inspection ruled it unsafe

Dustin Fox
dfox@gadsdentimes.com

A bridge in Sardis City is closed after an inspector deemed it unsafe for travel, according to city officials.

Located on Whitesboro Road just inside the city limits, the one-lane wooden bridge will remain closed until city officials determine how to address the problem.

According to Mayor Russell Amos, they are still waiting to determine whether the bridge can be repaired or if replacing it would be necessary.

The inspector checked the bridge over the weekend and informed the city it needed to be closed to all traffic. It has remained closed since Monday, and Amos said both the inspector and the Etowah County Engineering Department have looked at the bridge and are working on their recommendations.

Comments on social media implied that the bridge would be closed permanently, but the mayor said that isn’t the city’s intention.

In the meantime, those traveling in the area will need to detour around the portion of Whitesboro Road between Oak Drive and Happy Hill Cutoff Road. Taking Son Johnson Road, which recently reopened after a bridge on that road was replaced, will be the quickest route, adding only about a quarter-mile distance.