FOREST ACRES, S.C. — The City of Forest Acres will soon be replacing a bridge commonly used by local residents and nearby business-owners.
The project is made possible thanks to an earmark request by lawmakers in the state budget. Forest Acres will be getting $500,000 from the state to replace the bridge on Forest Lake Place with a stronger, sturdier one.
"The bridge is probably pushing 80-years-old," Michael Marsha, a nearby business-owner said. "They fixed a bunch of the pylons underneath it over the years that have deteriorated.”
Marsha owns Forest Lake Fabrics. The back of his store faces the bridge, which stretches over Gills Creek.
"They’ve probably put 20 gussets under there under the last 10 years so now it’s time to replace the whole bridge," Marsha said while pointing underneath the bridge.
Since his store is so close to Gills Creek, Marsha says it endured a lot of damage from the 2015 Flood.
"We had 6 feet of water in here and it was running at 30 miles an hour so my building got completely destroyed," he recalled. "So, we’ve rebuilt it and refortified with concrete and steel, and with flood shields," explained Marsha.
The small bridge was slightly damaged by the flood, and Marsha thinks the new one should be elevated and have a stronger foundation.
Forest Acres' City Administrator Shaun Greenwood said they've been looking to replace the bridge since the historic flood.
"The bridge has been shut down after inspection twice due to concerns over the structural integrity of the support system," Greenwood said. "Both times the City has gone through and made the repairs but our engineers at the time said eventually the bridge would have to be replaced.”
The project will partially be funded by $500,000 that was earmarked in the state budget. However, Greenwood said it will cost much more than that.
"We believe it'll cost every bit of $500,000 if not, probably closer to a million dollars,” said Greenwood.
Local business-owners, like Michael Marsha are happy it's being done:
"I’m glad to know they’ve secured the money for replacing it because it needs to be replaced," said Marsha.
City officials are still in the planning stages but hope to unveil the new bridge by the end of next year.