Five Smyrna residents pooled their creative resources on Halloween to poke fun of the nearly two dozen drivers who earned a place on the Concord Road Covered Bridge Wall of Shame by crashing into it.
The residents, who live in a subdivision near the historic bridge, all donned costumes portraying different aspects of the bridge: A yellow warning sign that says, “one lane bridge” ahead; another sign that reads “Caution: if chains hit, turn around;” a driver of a U-Haul truck — who ignored the two signs — crashing into the bridge and a Facebook post stating the bridge is closed due to the collision.
The Cobb County government uploaded the photo to its Facebook page.
“We have a winner for our Halloween Costume Contest (that we weren't really holding, but anyway),” the county’s post said. “These folks in a Smyrna neighborhood dressed as our favorite Covered Bridge and its accouterments. True to form the guy dressed as the U-Haul does look a bit sketchy. Well done!”
The Concord Road covered bridge spans Nickajack Creek just south of the East-West Connector. It’s best known for repeated accidents as inattentive drivers keep trying to fit tall vehicles under its low rafters.
The bridge has had 22 close calls since December 2017 when the county installed protective metal beams at both ends of the bridge as part of an $800,000 taxpayer-funded rehabilitation. The beams are designed to absorb the blow from vehicles, protecting the bridge.
Since the hits to the metal beams kept coming, the county in June rolled out a more conspicuous system: dangling PVC pipes suspended over the road on the approach to the bridge.
READ | Explore the history and beauty of Georgia's covered bridges
Traffic signal mast arms hold the dangling pipes over Concord Road at a height of seven feet, which is the same maximum height for the one-lane bridge. The system is intended to be struck by too-tall vehicles as they approach the historic covered bridge, giving them time to turn around.
Since the installation, Cobb County spokesman Ross Cavitt previously said he has not seen any reports or social media posts indicating that the bridge's beams have been hit.
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