Hall County officials are hoping to finish up design work and start right-of-way acquisition next fiscal year on a four-lane extension of Memorial Park Drive from Ga. 369/Browns Bridge Road to McEver Road Extension.
The new fiscal year starts July 1 and ends June 30, 2013.
The costs for right-of-way and construction are estimated to be $12 million, with all of the funding coming from the county’s 1 percent special purpose local option sales tax revenue, said Jody Woodall, a Hall County civil engineer.
Construction could begin as early as fiscal 2014, which starts July 1, 2013, and ends June 30, 2014.
However, the schedule could change “based on available SPLOST revenues,” Woodall said.
Another companion project that has been in the works for a while is improvements to Skelton Road, a narrow two-lane road that serves as a popular, thickly residential connector between Shallowford Road and Browns Bridge Road.
The $10.5 million project, also funded by SPLOST, would widen Skelton Road to three lanes — one through lane in each direction and a center left-turn lane — from Shallowford Road to the new Memorial Park Extension, Woodall said.
“We don’t have a definite schedule for this phase at this time,” Woodall said.
Both projects are planned to have sidewalks.
“Skelton Road currently is a narrow, twisty road through a residential area with no sidewalks or pedestrian facilities,” Woodall said.
“These projects will provide a safer transportation facility.”
By connecting Skelton Road to the Memorial Park Extension, “the geometry improvements and pedestrian facilities impact the least number of residents.”
The Georgia Department of Transportation plans to eventually widen Atlanta Highway from Tumbling Creek Road near Lanier Career Academy to Memorial Park Drive, and then Memorial Park to Browns Bridge Road.
The project “has design, right-of-way acquisition and construction all in long range,” said Teri Pope, the DOT’s Hall County-based spokeswoman.
3 District 1 DOT employees place in driving skills event
On a lighter note, three DOT employees from District 1, a Northeast Georgia region that includes Hall County, placed in the May 22 “DOT Roadeo,” an annual equipment-driving skills competition.
Slade Gabriel of White County won first in the tandem dump truck category and will compete in a national roadeo this summer in West Virginia.
Greg Free of Habersham County won third place in the motor grader competition and Jesse Thurmon of Franklin County won second in the backhoe competition.
The competition has six categories: single axle dump truck, double axle dump truck, tractor mower, backhoe, motor grader and lowboy.
The event impressed District Engineer Bayne Smith.
“The display of technical skills is amazing. These men performed intricate maneuvers with each piece of equipment including parallel parking, driving forward and backward through obstacles while being timed,” he said.
Jeff Gill covers transportation issues for The Times. Share your thoughts, news tips and questions with him:
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