GDOT Bridge No. 027-00268X-00687N, Span Piscola Creek Overflow on Empress Road (County Road 268), Quitman

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER GA,14-QUIT,V,2-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

County Road 268/Empress Road spanning Piscola Creek Overflow 3.0 miles south of Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia U.S.G.S. 7.5 minute Baden, Georgia, quadrangle, Universal Transverse Mercator Coordinates: Northing Easting Date of Construction Completed in February Engineers/Builder: Designed and constructed by the Luten Bridge Company of York, Pennsylvania.

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER GA,14-QUIT,V,2-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

GDOT Bridge is a Luten double-rib concrete arch type bridge that was constructed in Although the Luten Bridge Company built approximately sixteen concrete arch bridges in the state during the period from to the double-rib type is not commonly found in Georgia. GDOT Bridge is one of four Luten double-rib concrete arch bridges in the state, and one of two in Brooks County. It is significant for its design and workmanship, and for its role in the development of transportation and commerce in Brooks County. Report Prepared By; Lauren A. Cotton Transportation Planner I Georgia Department of Transportation Office of Environment/Location Aviation Circle Atlanta, Georgia Date: March Georgia DOT Bridge No. HAER No.

GA-87 Page 2 GDOT Bridge is located on County Road 268/Empress Road spanning Piscola Creek Overflow three miles south of Quitman, Georgia, the County seat of Brooks County. This is the original location of the bridge. 268 is a two-lane roadway that connects Quitman with the communities of Empress, Georgia and Lovett, Florida. The area surrounding the bridge is rural, and is comprised of several old plantations and farmsteads. GDOT Bridge was constructed in The substructure is composed of reinforced concrete, with a concrete deck and concrete handrails. The bridge measures 90 feet in length and 18 feet in width, and retains its original materials and features.

Prior to the construction of GDOT Bridge a wooden bridge, known as the Johnson Bridge, provided the crossing at Piscola Creek and its overflow. This original bridge was reported to have been constructed in and was named for Wilson Johnson, a local farmer who owned much of the land surrounding Piscola Creek The crossing at Piscola Creek and its overflow was an important route as it provided access for the many farms and plantations located along 268 to the markets in Quitman. In the early decades of the Twentieth Century, the community of Quitman was a prosperous regional market center for the storage and transportation of local crops.

Since the primary source of income for Brooks County stemmed from the production and sale of crops such as cotton, corn, tobacco, timber and peanuts, the benefits of improved transportation facilities could not be underestimated. Thus, beginning in Brooks County undertook the task of paving some of its county roads and replacing many of its old deteriorated wood bridges. The Johnson Bridge was one of the earliest old wood bridges in the County to be replaced with new concrete structures.

In January the Brooks County Commissioners ordered the advertisement of bids for a contract to construct two new bridges over Piscola Creek and its overflow In April the bid by the Luten Bridge Company was accepted, and construction of the bridges was completed in February The Luten Bridge Company of York, Pennsylvania was founded by Daniel B. Luten. Luten was educated at the University of Michigan, where he received a in Civil Engineering in Luten went on to teach at the University of Michigan from and then at Purdue University from to In Georgia DOT Bridge No. HAER No.

GA-87 Page 3 Luten settled in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he began his life-long career studying and designing concrete bridges The Luten Bridge Company constructed approximately sixteen concrete arch bridges in Georgia during the period between and The majority of these bridges were located north of the fall line, with concentrations in northwest Georgia. All but four of these bridges have solid spandrels The remaining four possess the double-rib feature, which is distinguished by two relatively narrow arch rings on either side of the structure that resemble ribs.

All of the concrete arch bridges built by the Luten Bridge Company are easily identified by an incised rectangular pattern on the concrete railings The construction of concrete bridges was introduced in Georgia in the latter part of the Given the strength and durability of concrete, it readily became the popular material for the construction of new bridges. Between and the Georgia Highway Department constructed 255 new bridges throughout the State, 85 percent of which were of concrete construction Although the type and method of construction exemplified by GDOT Bridge is no longer utilized, concrete bridges revolutionized bridge building throughout the State for decades to come. Georgia DOT Bridge No. HAER No. GA-87 Page 4 Endnotes: 1) Jean Logan, local historian, Interview by Lauren A.

Cotton, Quitman, Georgia, January 10, 2) Brooks County Commissioners' Court, Minutes, Volume 4, p. 3) Ibid, p. 4) Georgia Department of Transportation and Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Historic Bridge Survey, pp. 5) Ibid, p. 73. 6) Ibid, p. 73. 7) State Highway Board of Georgia, Fourth Annual Report of the State Highway Board of Georgia, p. 76.