Twenty-two road projects are either completed are underway in Newton County, all intended to keep roads up to snuff or make them far better.
Leading the way for the latter are the stoplights and road widening planned for the intersection of State Road 81 and Crowell Road, which County Commission Chairman Keith Ellis has unhesitatingly called the worst intersection in the county. That project should start in September.
Tuesday night, Ellis passed around an update of all 22 projects to fellow commissioners. Five on the list are already finished: a culvert replacement under Crowell Road (the only project paid for by impact fees), the realignment and paving of the dirt Gaithers Road and the resurfacing of streets in Trelawny Place and the Melody Farms and Oak Lake subdivisions.
Three are under construction: the resurfacing of Cook Road from Mt. Zion to Bald Rock, the Alcovy Road trestle at State Road 11, and Airport Road at SR 142.
Many will begin this fall, including the Crowell Road/81 improvements. The others are the Sewell Road bridge over the Little River (may begin this summer), realigning and paving the dirt Livingston Lane, replacing the Oak Hill bridge (may not start until spring), and resurfacing Waterford Grove Road, Cook Road from Mt. Zion to Bald Rock, and Mt. Tabor from Almon Road to Sockwell.
Others will begin in the spring. On that list are Brown Bridge Road at Crowell Road intersection improvements, improvements at the intersection of the Covington Bypass and Flat Shoals Road, and work at the intersection. Realigning and pavement of the dirt Loyd Road should begin in the summer.
Two projects are set to start in early 2016: improvements at the intersection of SR 82 and SR 142, and realignment of the frontage road at Crowell Road and I-20.
The final project is safety improvements on Brown Road. That one’s still in the design phase.
Most of the projects are paid for by SPLOST funds raised in 2011 or held over since 2005. The Georgia Department of Transportation contributed to six of the projects.
