The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) had traffic at a crawl on the Benjamin Fitzpatrick Bridge earlier this month as an outside company inspected it.
“Last week an independent company inspected the Benjamin Fitzpatrick Bridge,” ALDOT public information officer of the Southeast Region Brantley Kirk said. “Once their results are provided to ALDOT, we will compare them with our annual inspection. The results from both the internal and independent inspection will aid in future plans and inspections.”
The Fitzpatrick has been rated as being in "poor" condition since 1999 and was last listed in "fair" condition in 1997. ALDOT said there is no plan to replace the bridge at this time.
Construction of a bridge that would reroute traffic from the Fitzpatrick Bridge has been talked about for decades. At one time a new bridge was in ALDOT's five-year plan.
"A new bridge across the Tallapoosa River at Tallassee has been talked about for a long time but now two river bridges have been authorized for planning and engineering by the Alabama Department of Transportation," The Tribune reported on Nov. 11, 1999.
More statics on the Benjamin Fitzpatrick bridge can be found at https://bridgehunter.com/al/elmore/tallapoosa-river/
