County residents may notice more construction and equipment on local roads during early summer and fall. The first set of resurfacings for more than 27 miles of road funded by the 2010 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax is estimated to start in May.
Mike Houchard, chariman of the Transportation Subcommittee for the Citizens SPLOST Oversight Committee, reported that the county had received five bids for the first resurfacing contract, which included more than 90 portions of road. The contract goes to the Board of Commissioners on April 23.
"We anticipate having a lot of equipment around the county laying down asphalt," Houchard said
Many of the roads to be resurfaced are in subdivisions including: Ashley Trace, Bridgwater Place, Caritas Meadow, Carlisle Estates, Cedar Brook, Chelsea Downs, Country Lane Estates, Crysta Springs, Deer Forest, Eagles Ridge Eden Glen, Fern Creek, Fieldstone, Flintridge Estates, Gardens of Fieldstone, Granite Mountain, Heritage Estates, Hidden Acres, Hidden Lake, Honey Creek, Honey Springs, Indian Ridge, Laurel Woods, Maggie Valley, New Lake Estates, Nob Hill, North Hampton, Raintree, Smyrna Downs, Southpark, Stanton Ridge, Tony Valley, Village Green, Woodland Forest.
Other portions of roads not in subdivisions include: Abbott Road from Iris Drive to Turner Road, Ebenezer Road from 138 to Stanton Road to Johnson Road, and Cook Road from Ga. Highway 155 to Union Church Road.
The second set of road resurfacings is estimated to be ready for bidding by June and the contract awarded by August.
Several more sets of one-year resurfacing contracts will be drawn up as the one cent sales tax funds are collected over a six-year period.
Transportation has the largest allocation - $33 million - of the $75 million SPLOST. Out of the transportation portion, $20 million is for resurfacing, $4.5 million is to establish a maintenance program, about $1.5 to $2.5 million for administrative costs, and $5 million to leverage as matching funds for state and federal dollars.
In other SPLOST oversight business:
- Irwin Bridge bridge is slated to be opened to normal traffic by the end of summer, said Houchard. Safety railings still need to be put in place and the site needs to be cleaned up.
"Certainly in time for the school system to be able to return to their normal routes," he said.
- The county will also see re-striping of more than 33 miles of roads. The Oversight Committee approved the use of up to $503,000 towards restriping. However, that amount could be as little as about $350,000 because Georgia Department of Transportation may fund about $153,000 worth of the restriping.
"If you drive at night in the rain (in Rockdale), you can pick any road (that needs) to be restriped," said Houchard.
The restriping will include reflector tags and use longer-lasting thermal plastic instead of paint.
The road portions to be restriped include: Old Covington Highway, Smyrna Road, Honey Creek Road, Pleasant hill Road, Miller Bottom Road, Union Church Road, Old Covington Road, Flat Shoals Road, Underwood Road, McCalla Road, East Fairview Road, Salem Gate Drive, Costley Mill Road, Gees Mill Road, Sigman Road, Klondike Road, Black Shoals Road, and McDaniel Mill Road.
