Sidney Lanier Bridge reopened as Ian heads toward Carolina coast
Sep. 30—The Sidney Lanier Bridge is open now that Hurricane Ian has passed the Golden Isles.
"Bridge Inspectors were on the Sidney Lanier Bridge at first light this morning and have now completed the bridge inspection.," according to a statement from the GDOT. "Crews have removed all barricades and reopened the bridge to all traffic."
The National Weather Service says Hurricane Ian is out in the Atlantic east of Brunswick and moving on to the South Carolina coast at 9 mph. The Brunswick area will continue to feel strong northwesterly gusts of 15 to 25 mph, up to 35 mph in some places.
Storm conditions are forecast to diminish throughout today and tomorrow. The NWS forecasts sunny weather in Brunswick and on St. Simons tomorrow.
The storm passed Glynn County with little in the way of storm damage. County spokeswoman Katie Baasen said the only damage known as of 8:30 a.m. was a missing step from the Eleventh Street beach crossover on St. Simons Island, and the beach crossover at Gould's Inlet appears to have been lifted and now sits unevenly.
"I think we were very fortunate," Baasen said.
The county's customer service line, 912-554-7111, is still open for citizens to report non-emergency or non-life threatening storm damage.
A tropical storm warning remains in effect and a storm surge warning will continue
through the next high tide, which is at 12:56 p.m. in Brunswick and at noon on St. Simons Island.
City Manager Regina McDuffie said barricades up on Newcastle Street will remain until after high tide.
"In downtown we still have the barricades up at Newcastle, mainly because of the high tide expected today. We'll be watching out for that. Once that's cleared, we'll remove those," McDuffie said.
The county's Emergency Operations Center, a coordination hub for government agencies and major private businesses in the area, is winding down and expected to close by noon, Baasen said.
