The Alabama Department of Transportation is two weeks away from opening its new $7 million bridge on Alabama Highway 35, WEIS-AM reported on its website last week.

The new bridge, which spans Little River at the site of Little River Falls on the Cherokee-DeKalb county line, will officially open Sept. 15. A ribbon cutting will be held at the bridge, although the exact time of day has not been formally announced.

Division 1 chief engineer Johnny Harris told WEIS that the new span will replace the old G.E. Hill bridge, which "is functionally obsolete and no longer meets safety standards."

Harris said the Department of Transportation inspects bridges for safety every two years, and if found lacking may be rehabilitated or replaced.

Harris said the G.E. Hill bridge was not in danger of failure. But he said it made more sense to replace it than try to repair it.

The approach to the new bridge is just upstream from the existing structure, which will be removed. Harris told WEIS that the approaches to the old span will be "graded down and returned to a natural state."

Harris said the replacement project, which began a year and a half ago, was completed ahead of schedule because of the hard work of contractors and favorable weather.