Georgia agency awards contract to raise Savannah bridge to accommodate bigger cargo ships

A Georgia state agency has chosen a general contractor to oversee a $189 million project to raise Savannah's towering suspension bridge so that larger cargo ships can pass underneath and reach one of the nation's busiest seaports

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- The Georgia Department of Transportation said Wednesday it has chosen a general contractor to oversee a $189 million project to raise Savannah's towering suspension bridge so that larger cargo ships can pass underneath and reach one of the nation's busiest seaports.

Maintenance and construction on the Eugene Talmadge Memorial Bridge are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2025, the DOT said in a statement announcing that Kiewit Infrastructure South Co. will serve as general contractor.

Built in 1991, the bridge spans the Savannah River at the Georgia-South Carolina state line. Cargo ships passing Savannah’s downtown riverfront must sail underneath the bridge to reach the Port of Savannah, the fourth-busiest U.S. port for cargo shipped in containers.

Officials with the Georgia Ports Authority began more than five years ago calling for the bridge to be replaced, saying its 185 feet (57 meters) of clearance will eventually be too low to accommodate growing classes of cargo ships.

The DOT's solution, at least for now, is to replace and shorten the bridge's massive cables to raise its center span up to an additional 20 feet (6 meters). The agency says most of the work can be done without closing the bridge to traffic.