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On Tuesday, County Engineer James Emery, gave the Troup County Board of Commissioners updates on four Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT) projects. Of the four DOT projects, two are road widening projects on West Point Rd and Hamilton Rd. The other two remaining projects are bridge replacements on Hamilton Rd.

“The four projects that I am updating you on are all core projects that are Georgia DOT projects, they are not Troup County projects, and so we have very little input and jurisdiction at all over these four projects,” Emery said.

WEST POINT ROAD

According to Emery, on West Point Rd. from the McDonald’s at Lee’s Crossing to Glass Bridge Rd., there are plans to widen the road from two lanes to four. As of Tuesday, the project is still in the preliminary engineering phrases. The construction is not expected to move into the right of way phase until Fiscal Year (FY) 25.

According to DOT’s numbers, the project is not expected to go into construction until FY28. According to Emery, the road is to be updated with four, 12-foot lanes. During the construction of the road, traffic will be maintained onsite, he said.

HAMILTON ROAD

On Hamilton Rd., from Morgan St. to Auburn Ave. there are plans to widen the current road from two lanes to four. According to Emery, the 1.42-mile project is finished with preliminary engineering and right-of-way acquisition. It is moving toward the construction phase.

“We have more specifics about the timeline more than we ever had in the past,” Emery said.

In the last few months, the project was put out to bid, he said. The DOT received the bids and the low bidder said the cost would be over $22 million. Emery said the DOT rejected all the bids and re-bid the project. Emery said the re-bid is expected in the next few months. 

LONG CANE CREEK BRIDGE REPLACEMENT

Just north of Sam Walker Drive, intersected by Vulcan Materials Rd., lies the Long Cane Creek Bridge. According to Emery, the DOT plans to replace the existing 120-foot, two-lane bridge, with a new 150-foot, two-lane bridge.

The proposed bridge will have 12-foot lanes and eight-feet outside shoulders. An on-site detour bridge is proposed to maintain traffic on site, Emery said. 

As of Tuesday, the preliminary engineering and right-of-way acquisition is complete with the construction to starting. 

“Georgia DOT had a pre-construction meeting within the last two weeks where they reviewed with the contractor the project and schedule,” Emery said. “They look to start construction in October of this year and finish the project in October of next year.”

FLAT SHOAL CREEK BRIDGE

According to Emery, GDOT has plans to replace the current bridge over Flat Shoal Creek, south of Smokey Rd. and north of Hagler Rd. The existing 244-foot bridge will be replaced with a 330-foot bridge. As of Tuesday, the preliminary engineering and right of way acquisition is done. The construction timeline is on a similar schedule to Long Cane Creek bridge, Emery said.

Unlike Long Cane Creek, the bridge on Flat Shoal will not have an onsite bridge detour. The road will be closed but will have an offsite detour posted that will use Interstate 185 and state route 18 as the official detour.

“This one (Flat Shoal) also had a preconstruction meeting in the last two weeks and the contractor is expecting to have the notice to proceed within 60 days and then 240 days of road closure anticipated with a scheduled reopening in Spring of next year,” Emery said.