Georgia Department of Transportation earlier this month awarded contracts to replace old, outdated bridges and upgrade county road safety in the southwest area of the state.

The contracts represent a nearly $7 million investment in Southwest Georgia infrastructure. The largest single contract awarded statewide will replace State Route (SR) 37 bridges over Pachitla Creek and two creek overflows in Calhoun County. The approximately $6.3 million contract was awarded to Oxford Construction Co. The bridges are about a mile west of Dickey. They were built in 1921, widened in 1955 and do not meet current design standards. Traffic will be detoured during construction, which is expected to be complete in the spring of 2022.

Two other contracts will benefit motorists who travel county roads in Berrien and Turner counties. Upgrades include new highway signs, striping and pavement markings and will vary by road. This will be done at 25 locations in Berrien County and 21 in Turner County.

Georgia DOT maintains state routes while county governments are responsible for the upkeep of county roads. However, Georgia DOT receives federal funding annually that allows for completion of 20 to 25 safety projects statewide on non-state routes. These safety upgrades have been done in more than half of the 31 counties in the southwest Georgia area.

“It’s important because 40 percent of overall crashes we have statewide are on off-system routes. We wanted to address that because our main goal at GDOT is to reduce crashes,” said Charity Belford, program manager for Georgia DOT’s local grant office. “The sign and striping upgrades are where we can get the most bang for our buck.”

Start dates haven't been announced for these three contracts.