If you work downtown and use heavily-traveled Ponce de Leon Ave to get to/from Decatur, you may want to consider an alternate route. According to a TRIP Report on Georgia Roads, the Ponce bridge over Lullwater Creek (just east of the Ponce/Lullwater Rd intersection) is in pretty sad shape. The bridge, which was built in 1922 and supports an average of 26,520 vehicles a day, was listed among the top 20 most-traveled, “structurally deficient” bridges in the metro area. The report describes a “structurally deficient” bridge as having “significant deterioration of the bridge deck, supports or other major components”.

I can only imagine the headaches for Decatur drivers comparable to those experienced by 14th Street bridge commuters if and when the county decides to repair/reinforce the Lullwater bridge. Ponce is already a traffic nightmare (especially in the morning) and is one of only two major arteries out of Decatur that lead downtown (the other being DeKalb Ave).

Interesting note: Not all news in the report was bad. The report notes “In 2005, Georgia led the nation with 92 percent of its major roads rated in good condition.”

Go DeKalb