ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) says the Oglethorpe Bridge in downtown Albany is unlikely to reopen by the projected July date.

GDOT says there are still about three to four months of construction time left. If the July target isn’t met, GDOT expects the bridge to open this fall.

Juanita Birmingham with GDOT said mussels in the river delayed construction. Before the contractor could put anything in the water, crews had to complete three mussel sweeps.

“And they removed 2,384 mussels from the project limits. Now, 238 of those were protected, but all of those were relocated upstream. The ones that are protected were tagged and recorded and were relocated. So that hurt a lot because any time the mussels are breeding or spawning, contractor can’t be in the water. There was a big delay getting started,” Birmingham said.

A company from Atlanta performed the three mussel sweeps. The 238 protected mussels were tagged, recorded, and relocated upstream.

The contractor could not disturb the water during mussel breeding or spawning periods. The contractor also could not build a work bridge needed to start removing the Oglethorpe Bridge until crews were cleared from the mussels. That clearance did not happen until early September of last year.

It’s still unclear exactly when the bridge will reopen. In the next three to four months, GDOT says it will reassess the project and meet with the contractor to determine when they can open the bridge.

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