TIFTON, GA – A smoother ride on portions of four state routes and construction of a new bridge to replace one built in 1958 are coming to southwest Georgia.
Earlier this week the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) announced the award of 24 contracts for statewide projects totaling $89.7 million. The projects were advertised for bids in January and awarded in early February.
Southwest Georgia projects awarded are shoulder rehabilitation and resurfacing of deteriorating portions of state routes in Atkinson, Berrien, Colquitt and Decatur counties and construction of a replacement bridge that meets current design standards in Coffee County. The resurfacing projects, low bidders and construction contract amounts are:
Atkinson County – 1.724 miles on U.S. 82/SR 520 west of Pearson beginning west of Kirkland Road and extending to Kirkland Street, The Scruggs Co. of Hahira, $1.2 million.
Berrien County – 0.676 miles on SR 125 in Nashville beginning west of U.S. 129/SR 76/SR 11 and extending west of Nashville Highway/Enigma Road, Reames and Son Construction Co. Inc. of Valdosta, $190,000.
Colquitt County – 6.108 miles on U.S. 319/SR 35 in Moultrie beginning north of SR 33 and extending to SR 33/SR 133, Reeves Construction Co. of Macon, $2.7 million.
Decatur County – 2.4 miles on SR 1 south of Bainbridge beginning at Toole Dairy Road and extending south of Alice Street, Oxford Construction Co. of Albany, $1.2 million.
The completion date for all resurfacing projects is Dec. 31.
Pavement can deteriorate for a number of reasons, GDOT Southwest District Maintenance Engineer Stacy Aultman said. Much depends on the amount and type of traffic that typically travels the route.
“Almost all our routes get a lot of truck traffic from farm vehicles and trucks going from farm to market. Farming is our number one industry,” Aultman said.
Heavy trucks can take a toll on pavement. The braking of tractor trailers at intersections can push the asphalt and create bumps in the surface. Even ants can affect road condition if they build anthills under the edge of pavement, which can cause the pavement to collapse, Aultman said.
GDOT inspects and rates every state route once a year, deducting points for issues like cracking and rutting. Asphalt pavement has a normal life of 10 years so the goal is to resurface once every 10 years, but that hasn’t been possible because of the lack of funding, Aultman said. That will change with the passage last year of House Bill 170, the Transportation Funding Act.
“As the months progress, we will see a significant increase in projects that tackle the state’s deteriorating transportation infrastructure—projects to restore Georgia’s pavements and bridges—as a result of the Transportation Funding Act,” GDOT Commissioner Russell McMurry said earlier this week. “GDOT will perform more routine maintenance than we were previously able, like fixing potholes and guardrails. Plus there will be more resurfacing and restriping of roads. We ask the public to ‘pardon our progress’ as we work to improve our transportation network.”
Construction of the Coffee County bridge on SR 158 at the Satilla River is funded from bonds appropriated by the 2015 General Assembly. The bridge is about 12 miles west of Douglas. The project includes construction of a detour bridge so motorists won’t have to use an off-site detour during construction of the replacement bridge. The construction contract amount is $3.5 million and the low bidder was East Coast Asphalt LLC in Douglas. The completion date is Sept. 30, 2017.
Contracts between GDOT and the contractors have to be signed before work can begin on the projects. Details on all awarded projects can be found through the Award Announcement Downloads link: https://www.bidx.com/ga/lettings. For information about the Transportation Funding Act and future project investments, visit www.GAroads.org.
In their 2015 legislative session, Georgia lawmakers addressed the state’s critical transportation infrastructure needs with passage of House Bill 170, Georgia’s transportation funding bill. The Transportation Funding Act (TFA) of 2015 is expected to generate an estimated $870 million in the first fiscal year. This sustained annual revenue will be used to fund much-needed routine maintenance and capital improvements. GDOT is planning now so that projects can advance quickly once funds are received starting in July 2016.
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