GDOT picks I-85 firm to replace bridge

Company wins bid for Courtland St. project after interstate success.

The construction company that rebuilt the Interstate 85 bridge in six weeks has been selected to replace a 110-year-old bridge in downtown Atlanta.

The Georgia Department of Transportation selected the team of C.W. Matthews Contracting Company/Michael Baker International for the Courtland Street bridge project, according to a press release. The agency said it expects to officially confirm the selection in early August after additional materials are reviewed.

C.W. Matthews was picked because it presented the best plan to minimize impact during construction, according to K. Joe Carpenter, a GDOT director. The proposal is said to involve shorter closure periods, fewer parking impacts to Georgia State University and stronger pedestrian access.

“We were looking for the best bid, not simply the lowest bid,” Carpenter said in the statement.

The bid amount to design and replace the bridge between Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Gilmer Street near GSU and the Georgia Capitol was $21 million. The project is partially funded by the state Transportation Funding Act of 2015.

Earlier this year, Marietta-based C.W. Matthews was in the spotlight when it completed the I-85 bridge work ahead of schedule after a segment of the freeway collapsed after being destroyed by a fire on March 30. The company received a $3.1 million bonus from GDOT after the bridge reopened a month ahead of schedule. The company donated $10,000 to a camp for kids with special needs.

Construction on the Courtland Street bridge is expected to begin in early 2018, with an anticipated 14-month construction timeline.

Transportation officials said they expect to limit a full closure of the bridge between May and November 2018 to reduce impacts to GSU and downtown businesses.

JASON GETZ / JGETZ@AJC.COM 2011 Atlanta’s 110-year-old Courtland Street bridge will likely be replaced by C.W. Matthews Contracting, the company that completed work on the Interstate 85 bridge a month early. Officials say they expect to confirm the choice in early August.