Covered bridge reopens after van fails to heed protective beam
May 16—The Concord Road Covered Bridge's streak of bad breaks continued Monday as a van plowed through its protective beam and drove onto the bridge.
The bridge was briefly closed but reopened Monday afternoon, according to the county, and police will be citing the driver. Though the beam will have to be removed to extricate the van, the bridge itself was not damaged.
In past incidents — which have grown too numerous to count — the dependable beam has served as a sufficient deterrent for too-tall trucks and vans trying to cross the historic structure.
Though the driver Monday made it fully onto the bridge before stopping, the beam gave as good as it took, putting a sizable dent into the van's top.
The last such incident was in January when a similar utility-style van took out the beam.
Numerous warnings are posted along Concord Road approaching the bridge advising large vehicles not to proceed, including hanging rods placed at the same height as the beam.
The bridge is the only covered bridge still in use in Cobb County. It is estimated anywhere from 7,000 to 10,000 drivers a day use the bridge to cross Nickajack Creek. The bridge dates to 1872 and was posted to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
