The Georgia Department of Transportation has announced it is working on 19 transportation projects aimed at improving infrastructure throughout the state.

The Back River Bridge project will replace an existing narrow, 59-year-old bridge with a wider one that features 8-foot shoulders on each side. Officials say 19,000 vehicles cross the bridge from Hutchinson Island to South Carolina daily, and the shoulders will help minimize bridge closures because of accidents and breakdowns. The new bridge is expected to open in 2016.

The department is also widening two miles of the Golden Isles Parkway in Brunswick to two lanes, resurfacing 16 miles of Highways 59 and 24 in Dade County, and working on a $1.1 million mobility improvement project in Columbia County.

Tags: transportation, Georgia Department of Transportation, Golden Isles Parkway