GAINESVILLE -- Efforts to replace the Dawsonville Highway (Hwy. 53) bridge over the Chestatee River arm of Lake Lanier at the Forsyth-Hall County line keep getting delayed.

In September, the Georgia Department of Transportation rejected construction bids for a second time and will try again in January.

If the third time’s the charm, work could begin in the spring, district spokeswoman Teri Pope said Tuesday.

The green structure, also known as Boling Bridge and distinctive by its overhead truss system, was part of a series of bridges built in the 1950s as the Army Corps of Engineers was building and filling up Lanier.

The bridge project has a unique feature: 30-foot towers to accommodate osprey, a bird of prey that likes to make the bridge its summer home.

Work could have started this winter if a construction contract had been awarded this fall.

Initially, though, the DOT had hoped to award a contract in the summer and start work in the fall.

Pope said she couldn’t comment as to why bids were rejected.

The $13.5 million project was part of an $111.5 million bond package approved in May by the State Transportation Board.