Transportation Investment Act
Your Penny, Your Progress

For the past 10 months, road construction crews have been grading the land that will be the future East Sparta Bypass, a 3.1 mile highway from SR 15/SR 22 north of High School Lane on the north end to SR 15 just north of Shoal Road on the south end. The roadway is really starting to take shape. Here, on the south end, the area has been cleared of all trees and brush. 

Heading north toward SR 16, you'll find locations of the cleared land that are peppered with tiny orange cones. Blasting crews are removing granite deposits in the right-of-way and the cones mark places where holes have been drilled. 

On just the other side of SR 16 - the project's midpoint - a number of crews are 'cutting and filling.' This area in East Central Georgia is full of rolling hills and the contractors need to remove or add dirt and rock as needed to ensure the new roadway corridor is brought to the final grade of the roadway. Here, teams are doing the 'filling', as dump trucks drive in and out, releasing enormous loads of dirt and then heading out to get more. Bulldozers and compacting rollers are in constant motion, spreading out the material that will be packed into a firm earth foundation. As we travel northward, you can see a long stretch that has been compacted into a flat, stable surface.

So where do those dump trucks get all those tons of dirt? It comes from just up the hill! This is where the 'cutting' part of the process happens. About a half mile north of the SR 16 intersection, excavators continue digging and shaping the site. The dirt they remove goes right into the dump trucks that take it to the bulldozers and rolling compactors. 

As the 'cutting and filling' goes on, other tasks are underway throughout the length of the project. A number of culverts and underground pipe are being installed to ensure that the future highway will have efficient water drainage.

Project managers say the highway's subgrade preparation, grading and leveling will continue well into 2024. For most residents of Sparta and Hancock County, the project is pretty much 'out of sight,' so it may be easy to wonder what could possibly be taking such a long time. In road construction time, however, your average highway project routinely takes several years just for design and planning; the actual project work can then take another few-to-several years. When creating new infrastructure that needs to be safe for the thousands of drivers and vehicles that will use it each day - and also be durable for decades - our engineers and contractors are partners in ensuring every step is done correctly to specifications. These first stages of earth shaping and leveling may take a while, but all the steps are absolutely essential in creating a highway that will provide a new route - as well as improved economic and civic development benefits.  

Over the past year, the Cusseta Road, Old Cusseta Road and Farr Road area around the Interstate 185 overpass has been in a state of transformation, and right now you can really see how and where you'll be driving in the future. It's an extensive project going in multiple directions so there are a number of active construction locations throughout the corridors on any given day. 

Contractors have set up a staging area just south of the current Farr Road intersection with Old Cusseta Road, adjacent to the interstate overpass. If you want to estimate how much is going on overall, just look at all the concrete pipe, gravel, asphalt, and dirt comes and goes daily. Looking just to the west under the Interstate 185 overpass, the future new lanes have been graded and show the larger roadway 'footprint' that will come with the new interchange and ramps. 

Ready to see something that really shows how much excavation has occurred here in recent months? Take a look at the area just to the west of the interstate. See that group of engineers and construction managers, having a field meeting there? Look at how much earth and rock the crews have removed at just that one location! If we go a bit more to the west on Old Cusseta Road, we see an excavating team continuing to carve out lanes that will eventually lead to a new ramp at Interstate 185.

If we head back eastward on Old Cusseta Road toward the apartment complexes on the north side of the street, we see multiple excavating crews digging out new lanes here as well. With so many local residents affected by the construction, contractors want to get this work done as quickly as possible. Going up north on the current Farr Road, off in the distance we can see yet another excavating team removing tons of dirt and shaping the future new-and-improved-and-relocated Farr Road. That ridge of earth next to the excavator is about five-to-six feet tall - it shows how much higher the land surface was previously, how much work contractors have done already as well as how much is still left to do.  

With so many excavators removing so much dirt, so many dump trucks are constantly getting loaded and then making hundreds of trips to and from the numerous work sites each day. Plus, where there are excavators there are also bulldozers smoothing down the freshly-dug and graded land. So here's yet another reminder to #DriveAlert #ArriveAliveGA when passing through the area. Watch for the orange and white barrels, and often you'll also see a construction worker with flags, directing traffic when huge vehicles are close to the roadway. There's so much to be distracted by in this project, as our contractors and crews continue their progress.

The Southern Georgia region currently has 151 projects listed in its final investment list of infrastructure improvements being funded by the one-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2018. The list's progress and fund collection have both been steady, with 82 projects already completed within Southern Georgia's first five years of participation in the TIA program. The program's success to date has prompted county and municipal leaders to look to a potential second TIA term, with the anticipated election for the continuation in all the region's counties scheduled for 2028. 

One thing that the regional officials will need before that election - a new list of projects that would be funded and administered in a possible new TIA decade, so that voters will know how their tax contributions would be spent if they approve another TIA term. The county and municipal leaders who are tasked with approving and then presenting the future TIA 2 project investment list to the voters have formed a regional roundtable, and planning meetings are already taking place. That roundtable's executive committee met in Berrien County last week to continue the difficult work of negotiating which projects get on the final proposed list. All the counties and participating municipalities have submitted their "wish lists' that totaled 610 much-needed infrastructure improvements projects throughout the region. As you can imagine it'll take months of discussion to create a final draft with a number of projects that matches the TIA 2 anticipated budget - which could total more than $1B in investment by the end of the TIA 2 term. Each member of the executive committee had a super-sized packet of spreadsheets to tackle.

Amy Martin, transportation director for the Southern Georgia Regional Commission, oversees the meetings, ensuring that the negotiation is kept positive and moving forward. While each county and municipality will ultimately have some projects on the final investment list, it's not hard to understand how the committee members could become competitive with each other, with one pot of anticipated funds to be split up by 18 counties and several more municipalities. All the counties have improvement projects they've put on back burners, waiting for funding to happen, and TIA 2 is an opportunity to bring some of those ventures to life. Also present at the meeting are several Georgia DOT administrators, who don't have any say in what projects go on the final list. Instead, they provide data and insight as requested by the executive committee.

The executive committee members are all experienced public officials who routinely meet with each other regarding other regional matters, so they're used to negotiating and cooperating on endeavors like TIA 2. In addition, many were also a part of the original roundtable process when Southern Georgia's first TIA project investment list was created, so while their process is formal, it's also cordial. 

When an agreed-upon final draft of the TIA 2 investment list is completed, the Southern Georgia Regional Commission will then host two public information open houses scheduled for winter 2024, so that residents can review the proposed projects and provide comment. If you're interested in attending one of those open houses, watch the TIA social media pages and website, where we'll provide all the details.

If you have driven through the interchange on Interstate 75 at SR 31, you likely noticed that the beams are up on the new overpass. In coming weeks you may see teams making minor adjustments, but the bridge finally looks like an actual bridge. Next up after the adjusting: deck work!

These days, tasks are primarily focused on the ramps. On the east side of the interchange, crews are still clearing out the roadside that will later contain the widened on- and off-ramps to Interstate 75. Excavator operators are quickly taking out the old culvert beside the on-ramp to Interstate 75 northbound; when they're done, new earth will be brought in to level out the whole area.

In fact, leveling will be among the important next steps scheduled for the interchange. The widened ramps are integral to the new roundabouts that will be installed at the intersections with SR 31, so it's important to make sure all work is done to the exact measurement specifications indicated in the project's design. You can see in the first photo below how much higher the new Interstate 75 southbound on-ramp is alongside the current one. Throughout the project's timeline, the contractors will be raising the entire interchange to that height so that traffic flow from and to all directions will be smooth and safe. In the meantime, you can see that asphalt has been laid on these west-side on- and off-ramps, and on the Interstate 75 southbound off-ramp workers are installing the bases for the new lights that will be going up.

At times, some tasks may require lane closures under the overpass. Most of these will occur at night for the public's convenience and safety, but Georgia DOT and TIA will send out alerts through broadcast and social media in advance. Keep your eyes open for these announcements, and #DriveAlert #ArriveAliveGA!

All year long we've been celebrating TIA's first 10 years, from 2013 to 2022. As part of the remembrance, today we're releasing a video featuring local leaders from all four of our participating regions as well as the Georgia DOT. Through a lot of collaboration, coordination, calculations and especially communication, they tackled long lists of necessary projects, all made possible with a one-cent sales tax approved by the counties and communities they serve. Let's take a look at how TIA got started and what it has accomplished so far. Click here to watch the video. 

Feel free to share the link with others who may want to see their community's leaders and projects. Keep an eye out for our second video, focused on the economic, safety and civic progress made by the participating regions through TIA.

While one group of construction crews continues leveling the Buena Vista Road ramps up to the new, higher bridge, a number of utility teams has moved in to the eastern end of the project, Buena Vista Road from the Interstate 185 overpass to just before the North Linden Drive intersection. This portion of the roadway will be widened and these various workers must relocate water lines, cables and other underground facilities before the actual road work can begin. Right now, there's a LOT of digging going on.

It may look like an invasion of giant gophers has beset this area of Columbus, with multiple holes and piles of dirt and asphalt all lined up along the roadway's south side. Remember to continue driving alert and cautiously through the project's work zone, as these holes are deep and contain huge concrete pipes and masonry. A moment's distraction or speeding could result in your vehicle veering off into one.

Back at the interchange, more digging is underway, as excavators carve out the areas near the current north side on- and off-ramps that will become additional lanes as part of the interchange's future diverging diamond configuration. You can also see where concrete crews recently laid new roadway to connect the new bridge to the south side on- and off-ramps. There's much more activity scheduled through the fall months, so stay tuned for future announcements and alerts. 

 

The Flowing Wells Road improvements project is one of two TIA-funded endeavors currently in construction that are focused on growing corridors extending from Interstate 20 in Columbia County. As the county's residential and economic bases grow, so does the traffic. The Flowing Wells Road project is currently 65% complete, but a lot of work is still happening - and it's happening all throughout the project, from beginning to end.

When a roadway is widened, a variety of work crews are activated to do everything from excavating land in the new right-of-way to moving utility lines, from to constructing new concrete curb and gutter, to laying the new asphalt. Below you can see a utility crew working at the corner of Flowing Wells Road and Wheeler Road, surrounded by cars and trucks passing through the busy intersection. Moving a bit west on Wheeler Road, a signal team member provides additional safety while directing the flow of vehicles alongside a number of work units. 

You may not see some of the smaller teams on the roadsides. The masonry workers have shielded themselves from traffic by parking their truck directly behind their portion of the work zone. Some concrete teams are off the roadway but on commercial property sites. When large construction projects affect business driveways and other infrastructure, the projects' plans must include tasks to restore the facilities in good or better condition.

Some crews are right out in the roadways as well. The orange-and-white barrels and delineators aren't placed just to add some attractive color to the corridor - they're an integral part of the project's safety plan. Rather than close a lane altogether, usable lane space is sometimes narrowed just enough to allow vehicles to pass through but also provide a slim work zone for the crews. In these cases, it's very important for drivers to slow their speeds, to remain alert and to keep some space from other vehicles to prevent possible accidents. 

When driving down a busy, construction-filled corridor, it can be frustrating to have to slow down and carefully make your way through the work zone. Just focus on the future end result: a wider, safer and more efficient roadway that will help Martinez and Columbia County continue to grow and prosper.

During the Heart of Georgia Altamaha (HOGA) region's first TIA decade, the City of Claxton resurfaced 26 of its streets. During its second TIA decade, an additional 17 Claxton streets will get new asphalt. In fact, the vast majority of HOGA projects within both decades are resurfacings, whether for state routes or municipal roads. Ask any city or county leader and they'll tell you: infrastructure maintenance is a necessary but expensive task,. For many counties and cities within the HOGA region, finding money in the budget to resurface roadways can be difficult, often leading to many local governments putting the jobs on hold. However, when local leaders learned that TIA funds could provide necessary money to take old projects off back burners - especially roadway resurfacings - they added a lot of them to their project investment lists. There are hundreds of them, in fact.

Because there are so many projects involving portions of city streets and county roads to contract out, local leaders and engineers are bundling groups of smaller projects into one proposal to be bid out to infrastructure contractors. This makes business sense for a variety of reasons: 1) instead of having to deal with many contractors, they can work with one to do multiple projects; 2) the contractor can utilize resources more efficiently, making the overall venture more cost-efficient; and 3) having one contractor do multiple sites at once can make the work go quicker, which lessens impacts to the driving community. The contractors get larger projects to do, and local governments have a less complicated, less expensive way to get more roads upgraded. It's a win-win for everyone.

A bundle of seven portions of streets in Claxton was recently bid out and the winning contractor is McLendon Enterprises of Vidalia. A 'notice to proceed' order was issued to McLendon at the end of June, and now the contractor is gearing up to start work. 

Two of the streets to be resurfaced are near county offices, where people from all over Evans County come for services. West James Street from Gregory Street to North Grady Street includes the Evans County Board of Education, and many intersections that provide direct access to the Claxton Police Department, the Evans County Board of Commissioners Office and the Evans County Library. North Newton Street from SR 30 to West James Street includes the Evans County Health Department. 

Many of the streets in this resurfacing bundle are in Claxton's northwest quadrant and traffic can be heavy. For example, North Grady Street from SR 30 to West James Street is bordered on one side by the famous Claxton Fruitcake Company bakery and on the other side by the Evans County Superior Court Buildings. Not far away, Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive from SR 73 to Church Street is a well-traveled corridor in one of Claxton's older neighborhoods. It has many public gathering places, including churches, funeral homes and popular restaurants. 

Not all streets to be resurfaced in this bundle are in business or government areas. The group also includes South Spring Street from West Smith Street to West Liberty Street and Earl Avenue from South College to Hendrix Street. When businesses or industries look to set up shop in a new town or city, the quality of the residential infrastructure can be as important as the commercial thoroughfares. Civic and economic growth are both key factors in a municipality's success, and everyone wants to live in towns where the roads are safe and smooth.

Claxton residents and visitors will want to keep an eye out for alerts sharing information about construction activity and any possible traffic slow-downs related to the resurfacing crews at work. Drivers may deal with disruptions for a time, but when the projects are complete the whole county will benefit from safer, more efficient streets that are attractive and will last for years to come. 

With this project well underway, you'll find a busy hub of activity driving in the area of Old Cusseta Road and Farr Road. This is the location where multiple construction crews are working on multiple tasks, and there's a lot to see as you go carefully through the work zone. 

At the intersection, you'll see that workers have cleared what's called 'the footprint' for this part of the project underneath the Interstate 185 overpass. In coming months, crews will build a new bridge to serve as an onramp to the overpass here. To make room for the new onramp, a section of Farr Road will be moved to a new alignment, and just a bit further east on Old Cusseta you'll see excavators and other large vehicles clearing out the land where the future Farr Road will be. Also, you can see through these photos how quickly a summer storm can move through the region and provide a quick 'time out' on construction. The workers kept going until the storm hit, but it took only minutes for the skies to go from partly cloudy with sun to gray and ominous.

You'll see some interesting piles of things throughout the work zone. On one side of the roadway, huge concrete pipe is stacked up, waiting to be buried as utility crews move the water lines throughout the area. On the other side is an enormous pile of tires that had been scattered along the side of the road. As clearing teams went through the work zone creating this section of the project footprint, they had to sort out lots of litter debris as well as brush and grass. 

For the next few weeks, you'll see utility workers digging up old water lines and burying pipe in its new positioning along Farr Road. A lot of coordination among team members to carefully and properly place these new lines, so you may see a lot of construction equipment and people through the area. The work zone has been designated with everyone's favorite orange-and-white safety barrels and you'll note that the two lanes are a bit narrower than usual. As always, please slow down and #DriveAlert through this project's boundaries and both you and our crew members will #ArriveAliveGA!

 

 

Summer is a great time for road and bridge construction in Georgia, as the weather is mostly sunny and hot apart from the occasional storm. Crews working on projects in rural Georgia tend to have additional challenges in summer: an abundance of annoying gnats and surprise snakes, especially in or near rivers or lakes. Recent storms in Southern Georgia have made it so that at the US 82 bridge replacement site, teams are dealing with a LOT of mud and a LOT of gnats, and they're taking a LOT of care to make sure no one steps on a hidden water moccasin. 

All of this is happening while the crews need to be focused on accurate measurements and maneuvering. The work underway involves driving the future bridge's piles, or long concrete columns that are forced down into the ground and will form part of the foundation. On the west end of the project, you can see piles that have already been driven. The two on the ends may look crooked, but they are at the exact angles necessary for the bridge's design. You can also see piles with a wooden framework on top. Soon, a team will pour concrete into that wooden form to build a cap, or wedge that will distribute the bridge deck's weight evenly across the piles. 

On the east end of the site, workers are driving test piles to make sure they know exactly how deep to push them into the earth. See those tall columns in the middle? Those are test piles. Some crew members are building a steel 'template' that will guide the piles into the ground at exactly the right location and angle. The girders themselves must be lifted with extreme care, as they can weigh hundreds of pounds per foot.

While one group is readying a girder, another is perched high above the riverbank. A welder is preparing their platform to fit the waiting girder. The crew use an umbrella to ensure the sun's bright overhead glare doesn't interfere with the shaping. Occasionally, a test pile is lifted up by another crane so that the workers can check how well their metal template is coming together. It must be exactly right, or the piles won't be in their proper places and the bridge's foundation won't be as stable.

As you can see, there's a lot of interesting activity at the bridge project site. Just as the workers have to be alert despite the mud, bugs and serpents, drivers must also keep their focus on their task at hand: driving safely through the work zone. Remember, #DriveAlert and #ArriveAliveGA, and keep your eyes on the road and not on the construction. I'll make sure see lots of progress in our TIA social media and here on this blog.