Transportation Investment Act
Your Penny, Your Progress

Whenever we start a new road project, many people are surprised that our contractors have many activities that don't seem to involve the actual roadway. For the 8th Street widening project in Tifton, work has started on the roadsides with teams building new concrete curb and gutter, moving utility lines and clearing the spaces that will soon be part of the new lanes. If you enter 8th Street from the Interstate 75 interchange, you'll see the TIA project sign right away with all the orange and white barrels lined up along the work zone. You'll also see some new curb and gutter that shows where the new roadside boundaries will be.

You'll also see utility company crews working with excavators, digging up water and sewer lines to be relocated - when a roadside moves, all the pipes below need to move with it. New concrete pipe will be installed as the crews move eastward.

On the east end of the project near Carolina Drive, there's more new curb and gutter. You can see where clearing teams have piled up earth along the new roadsides - thanks to the residents in this area for their patience in their day-to-day encounters with the ongoing tasks. All drivers passing through are urged to be alert to the workers and their vehicles, and slow down in the work zone. 

 

There are so many reasons to #DriveAlert #ArriveAliveGA on the Louisville Bypass/US 1/SR 17 near Walnut Street these days! Within a half-mile of that intersection, you can see a few different construction tasks underway - each with large vehicles and crews either in or very near the roadway. You'll definitely notice the asphalt team as they lay new pavement. Because traffic is being reduced to one lane at their work zone, pilot cars and signal crew members are on site to guide cars and trucks through safely.

Just south of the asphalt team, we have workers on large equipment packing and evening-out layers of earth that will make up the new lane. While the equipment 'mostly' stay behind the orange-and-white barrels, every now and then they have to come up on the edge of the roadside. Watch out for them, and be ready to slow down.

Just south of the bulldozers are two more teams: one is installing utility pipes, and another is continuing the extension of the new lanes, setting layers of gravel. Excavators are digging ditches and then burying the new concrete water and sewer lines. Dump trucks are going in-and-out of the roadway, pouring mountains of gravel and then heading out for more. You'll also see workers throughout the work zone, directing the large vehicles, helping to spread gravel or keeping watch over the scene for safety. 

Watching these construction vehicles in action is cool (we agree!), but don't let them distract you while driving. Keep your eyes open, put your devices down, slow your speed, and we'll all go home at the end of the day safe and sound.

 

The construction on this seven mile stretch of highway is reaching a benchmark: more than four-and-a-half miles of the new lanes on the east end of the project are nearly ready to handle traffic, which means engineers can switch traffic to them while resurfacing and improving the shoulders of the older lanes. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's take a trip through the work zone from the west end to the east end, and take a look at the progress!

At the western end, the TIA sign shows your involvement through your tax contribution. A hint of the work to come is visible, and as we drive eastward we can see the earth being prepared for new layers of gravel and asphalt. See how thick those durable layers will be!

The impending traffic shift will be coming in just a few weeks, so watch for announcements and signage through the work zone. As we travel eastward, we reach Pinecrest Drive, which is where the traffic shift will start (or end, if you're coming westward from Cordele). In the meantime, you'll see crews all along the new asphalt, adding guardrail and striping as they prepare the new lanes for future cars and trucks and their drivers.

Getting closer to Cordele, you'll see that some miles of the new lanes have their yellow double stripe. When traffic is switched, you'll still be in a 'one-lane-each-direction' configuration, so driving alert and at a moderate speed will continue to be a priority. At the very east end of the project, you'll see that the connector to 24th Avenue West is still blocked to traffic. Let's avoid any 'Dukes of Hazzard' moments, please!

Widening this 10 mile stretch of highway to four lanes has meant many challenges, but our engineers are happy to report that major construction has been completed on the south end (in Appling County). This includes tying in the intersection at the Plant Hatch Nuclear Power Plant and constructing new bridges at the Altamaha River and the Altamaha River Overflow, as well as Williams Creek and Cobb Creek.

The existing bridges at those locations were also rehabilitated and widened in anticipation of increased future traffic through the corridor. Note that the roadways have new rumble strips and lane striping with highly visible paint. You'll see bike lanes through certain points. 

Working our way northward toward Lyons (in Toombs County), you'll see crews doing culvert installation and shoulder work as they continue building the new lanes. With all traffic still in two lanes on this end of the project, drivers should keep alert for safety - the big vehicles in action are indeed interesting, but don't let them be a distraction! 

With this project, we're converting the interchange into a diverging diamond configuration and installing roundabouts where the ramps meet SR 32. The footings of the new bridge are up and our contractors are now focused on building up the area around the bridges. You can see on the west side of the interchange, tons and tons of earth and sand have been brought in to build a retaining wall and another one is going up on the east side. Also on the west side, the land that will make up a new roundabout intersection is being shaped.

On the east side, a web of rebar is going up for yet another retaining wall. Stacks of concrete panels await their installation, each one weighing 2,000 pounds.

Communication is key when teams are moving tons of sand and even more tons of concrete panels. Crew members use bulldozers and other large equipment to pack down the layers of earth and sand, but there are some areas where only a human will fit.

Check out the new roundabout behind Brewer Elementary School - it'll keep traffic moving, whether you're coming from Brookhaven Road or Roosevelt Street.

 

The new signals at the intersection of Buena Vista Road and Roosevelt Street/Annette Avenue are up and running. If you live in the area and have kids that walk to Brewer Elementary, be sure to show them how to use the new signal buttons to safely cross the street.

 

Area residents and traffic will have a little break before Phase 2 starts. Phase 2 involves the construction of two new bridges - including the railroad bridge. Keep watching for announcements. 

While it may not have seemed so to local residents, contractors for your new roundabout completed major construction rather quickly! Crews recently installed the signage, added shrubs to the island and painted high-visibility striping throughout the project boundaries.

 

Before reaching the intersection, drivers will know exactly which right turn to take to exit the roundabout.  You can see that the island has a low, slanted curb, so that large semi-trucks can maneuver through the roundabout and roll over the median a bit with no damage to either the vehicle or the island.

 

When entering the roundabout, be sure to look to the left and ensure you're in the clear. With no stop signs or signals, vehicles can go through the intersection more quickly - no more having to wait in line for everyone to take their turn one-at-a-time.