About one in every three bridges in Alabama has been declared in need of repair or downright dangerous.
The bridge off Grants Mill Road and over Lake Purdy is one of those well known short cuts.
"It's a route everybody knows," says driver Brad Love.
"I use it to go to the other side of the mountain to bypass 280," says Adam Gaylor.
But not anymore. The city of Birmingham closed the bridge Friday.
"We got a report that the bridge over by Grant's Mill road was not stable...that there was some shifting in the bridge," says the mayor's chief of staff, Kevin W. Moore.
Monday the Alabama Department of Transportation sent its Emergency Bridge Inspection Team (EBIT) to the site for the third time in seven years.
Tuesday, this letter was sent to Interim Mayor Roderick Royal with a list of recommendations which the city has seen before but never acted upon.
Letters dated in 2002 and in 2008 also include the same recommendations.
ALDOT cites corroding and missing bolts that have not been replaced, and parts of the bridge that have suffered severe corrosion and 100% loss.
ALDOT also found that vehicles over the three ton load limit crossed the bridge regularly.
So after seven years, why did the city continually fail to act on the recommendations?
Moore answered that question on Wednesday.
"The biggest issue is funding...we're doing everything in our power right now to secure the safety of the citizens, and that's why the bridge is closed."
"Yeah it concerns me. There's a lot of stuff on the road that hadn't been done that needs to be done," says Gaylor.
"Yeah I'd like it fixed. I've thought about it going across...safety should be the priority for everybody driving," says Love.
ALDOT recommended that the state hire a consultant to test the bridge.
Moore says they have adhered to that recommendation and that the testing will be completed in three to four weeks. At that point, the city will decide what it's course of action will be concerning the troubled bridge.
