Drivers along Good Hope’s Doss Road will soon have an easier drive as a new bridge on the road nears completion.

The project to build the bridge first started on Oct. 21 and the last concrete for the bridge was poured on Dec. 11. Finishing the concrete means the bridge is effectively finished, and it will likely be a little after the new year that the road and bridge are ready to reopen for traffic, said Cullman County Road Department Bridge Supervisor Bobby Childers. 

He said the county work crew hasn’t run in to any major problems during the building of the bridge, and the continued cooperation of the weather has allowed the construction to move smoothly, he said.

“This has been a great bridge to build,” he said. 

The old one-lane bridge on the road was around 60 or 70 years old and in need of replacing, and the Good Hope City Council decided to make the replacement bridge two lanes to make it easier on drivers, City Planner Corey Harbison said.

“It wasn’t much more to do the double lane for the safety of people traveling that road,” he said. 

Mayor Jerry Bartlett also made sure to thank the county for their work on the bridge, and said the bridge’s final cost of around $100,000 could have been four or five times higher if the city had to use private contractors. 

“We really appreciate what the county does to help us,” he said. “They really saved us a lot of money on this bridge by helping us.”

Bartlett also thanked landowner Jack Doss, who donated land to the city for the right of way for this and another bridge that was built nearby, and said the newly-built bridge will be named the Glenda S. Doss Bridge in honor of Doss’ late wife.

Signs with the bridge’s new name will be put up on both sides once it is complete, he said. 

Tyler Hanes can be reached at 256-734-2131 ext. 238.