GDOT's New Detour Plan Would Keep Both Sides of the River Open During Boss Mull Bridge Rebuild

The Georgia Department of Transportation has sent Fannin County a revised, shorter detour plan for the coming replacement of the William T. "Boss" Mull Memorial Bridge over the Toccoa River in McCaysville — one that would keep traffic flowing on both sides of the river instead of forcing a months-long full closure. For drivers and emergency crews across the McCaysville–Copperhill area, the change addresses the single biggest worry raised this summer: how fire trucks and ambulances would get across the river once the aging span comes down.

Under the new proposal, according to local media reports, traffic would be routed over a new bridge built as part of the planned McCaysville Bypass — a route running from near School Street in McCaysville to near Colonial Avenue in Copperhill. The catch is timing: that bypass and its bridge would have to be finished before work on the Boss Mull Bridge begins, effectively giving the community a working alternate crossing before the old one closes.

How the plan changed

The revised proposal came to Fannin County Commission Chairman Jamie Hensley from a GDOT consultant project manager, who noted in writing that the detour path had been changed and is now shorter than the previous version, and invited any additional concerns. Hensley described the new approach as the best option on the table, saying it would leave both sides of the river easily accessible to traffic — and, critically, to emergency vehicles.

That framing matters because earlier state communications had pointed toward a very different scenario. A similar request years ago had indicated the bridge could be closed for nine to 12 months. When word of a possible full closure reached the county this July, it set off a scramble to find a workaround that wouldn't leave one side of the community cut off for the better part of a year.

The public-safety worry that drove it

The turning point came on July 18, when Hensley convened public safety officials from Fannin and Polk counties to hammer out solutions and bring their concerns to GDOT. Their central fear: with the Boss Mull Bridge closed, fire and ambulance crews serving both sides of the river would face longer, less certain routes — and the extra vehicle and pedestrian traffic would pile onto the historic steel bridge on Bridge Street, the other crossing linking McCaysville and Copperhill.

One idea that came directly out of that meeting was to have GDOT build the McCaysville Bypass — including its bridge across the Ocoee River — first, then take on the Boss Mull replacement. Doing so means moving the bypass up on GDOT's proposed schedule for the larger Blue Ridge-to-McCaysville State Route 5 project. The revised detour plan reflects exactly that sequencing.

Two states, one project

There is a wrinkle that puts part of the timeline outside Georgia's hands. Because a portion of the bypass project lies on the Tennessee side of the line — McCaysville and Copperhill sit right against the state border — completing it requires Georgia and Tennessee officials to coordinate. Hensley has said he's been assured Georgia is ready to pay for the work, but the segment inside Tennessee has to be handled by Tennessee.

What it means for daily life here

For families who cross the river for school, work, church, groceries, or a shift downtown, the practical upshot is straightforward: if the plan holds, there should be a continuous, usable crossing on both sides throughout the Boss Mull replacement rather than a stretch of months funneling everyone onto the Bridge Street steel bridge. That's a meaningful difference for commute times, for downtown businesses that depend on easy access from both states, and — most of all — for the response times of the crews who answer 911 calls.

For now, the headline for McCaysville and Copperhill is a hopeful one: instead of bracing for a river town split in half for the better part of a year, the current plan is built around keeping both banks connected the whole way through.

We'll keep following the Boss Mull Bridge and McCaysville Bypass as dates and design details firm up. For more, visit Blue Ridge Georgia Community Website, and share your questions or thoughts with neighbors in our Community Forum. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and X for updates as they happen. You can also read more government & politics coverage and public safety stories from around Fannin County.