Central of Georgia Railway, Bay Street Viaduct, U.S. 17 & Bay Street, spanning Central of Georgia Railroad, Savannah

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER GA,26-SAV,89-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Bay Street Viaduct is representative of an intact example of an early century viaduct "built to span railroad tracks and yards. It is a relatively rare example for an important type of century structure in Georgia. The Bay Street Viaduct is one of five viaducts, similar in age and length, spanning railroad facilities in the State. It is also the longest of these five viaducts in Georgia.

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER GA,26-SAV,89-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Susan Shepherd Prosser October Central of Georgia Railroad, Bay Street Viaduct HASR No. GA-70 (Page 2)

Historical Background

The Bay Street Viaduct (GDOT Bridge #O5l/O0O25/A/0O138N) is a concrete girder viaduct measuring feet and containing 6 main spans and 57 approach spans. It is one of five viaducts, similar in length and age, that spans railroad facilities in the State of Georgia. It is the only such known structure bridge in Chatham County and in that region of the State. Of the four remaining viaducts, three are located in Atlanta and one in Columbus. The Bay Street Viaduct was constructed by the Central of Georgia Railroad in with the city of Savannah's approval. It was built at a time when conflicts between traditional railroad transportation and increasing automobile and truck traffic required solutions involving massive grade separation structures.

As such, these structures were among the most important public works of their day. Though railroad facilities have been located in the immediate area of the bridge since the there is no other known crossing of these facilities prior to the construction of the Bay Street Viaduct. According to John W. Reps in The Making of Urban America, in the and the City Efficient Movement replaced the City Beautiful Movement as the main goal of city planners. The shift in emphasis to more practical city planning was a reaction against the earlier movement and its grand style. This viaduct was built by the railroad with city approval, in an effort to provide a more efficient transportation system in Savannah.

The bridge was designed by Olaf Otto, a local architect and engineer, who immigrated to this country from Norway in Otto came to Savannah in where he designed many residences, industrial plants, and other buildings. Two of his better-known projects were the first steel bridge linking Georgia and South Carolina, and the Bay Street Viaduct. SOURCES OF INFORMATION GDOT Maintenance Records Savannah Evening Press, July 8, I960; obituary of Olaf Otto. Beth Reiter, City Preservation Officer for Savannah. Paul Liles, Engineer, GDOT Office of Bridge Design. Dr. Jim Brittain, Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology. John . Reps, The Making of Urban America, Princeton: Princeton University Press, Georgia State Historic Preservation Officer.