Four active projects are expected to be completed by the end of this year, said county engineer James Emery.
Work at the intersection of South Davis and Upper Big Springs roads will be one of the first projects completed this year. Work on a traffic signal that’s been sought for years at the intersection began in October.
“That has an expected completion date this Spring,” Emery said.
Two other county road projects already are near completion. Pegasus Parkway, which connects Whitesville, West Point and Roanoke roads, currently is open for use, but not completely finished, Emery said.
“It won’t be complete for a few months, probably by summer,” he said, adding that work on traffic signals, driveways and drainage systems must be finished, as well as establishing the permanent grassing.
The road opened for travel in December with a dedication ceremony honoring Chips Moman, LaGrange native and noted music producer.
The traffic signal at Kia Parkway also is not completely finished, but will be soon, Emery said.
“It always takes some time to get a new signal timed right,” he said.
The west extension of Lukken Industrial Drive and the realignment of Waugh Road are projects that will start and finish this year.
“The next big project we’ll start will be the Lukken Industrial extension to the west,” Emery said, adding that bid requests for the project would be advertised this month.
The extension will take the western end of Lukken Industrial Drive, which currently ends at West Point Road, and connect it to Pegasus Parkway.
The east extension of Lukken Industrial Drive also is underway. It will take the road from from Hamilton to South Davis, and is expected to be completed this year.
A building that formerly housed Domino’s Pizza on West Point Road has been demolished to make way for the extension, which will pass beside Western Heights Baptist Church.
Another project to start this year will be the realignment of Waugh Road, which “will be out to bid soon, and is probably less than one year of construction,” Emery said.
The project will relocate Waugh Road to tie into the intersection of Ann Bailey Way, and become part of the North Loop. After the Waugh Road realignment, motorists will be able to use the loop to travel from Mooty Bridge Road to New Franklin Road, Youngs Mill Road, Hammett Road, Hogansville Road, Lafayette Parkway, Upper Big Springs Road, Hamilton Road and Whitesville Road.
Some other major construction projects will not start until the result of a vote on a 1-percent regional transportation sales tax in July is known.
If it is approved by voters, Troup will receive a total of $120.8 million from the tax over the 10-year period, Emery said. Seventy-five percent of the funds from the tax will be put towards a set list of projects in the region, and 25 percent of the funds will be distributed directly to the local governments for local transportation needs.
“A lot of the big projects we’re going to see how the T-SPLOST goes,” Emery said. “On these big projects, we’re in a little bit of a holding pattern.”
Background work on the projects will continue, Emery said.
Maintenance of current roads and infrastructure always takes the highest priority.
“Resurfacing of existing roads is going to be a big project this year as it has been every year,” Emery said. “We’ve got a lot I know we want to get done, but we’ve still got roads to maintain. You have to keep up a level of service on the infrastructure we already have.”
Many county roads also will be re-striped this year.
“This past year we started including raised pavement markers while striping and we’ll continue that,” he said. “That has a huge safety benefit for a relatively small price.”
Matt Chambers can be reached at mchambers@lagrangenews.com or (706) 884-7311, Ext. 228.
Post a Comment
