Halloween is new target date for ‘major construction’ finish on big road project

A huge road-improvement project that some residents would say has provided more tricks than treats is on target to finish by Halloween.

State Department of Transportation officials say the new end date for “major construction” along Forest Hill Road is Oct. 31 — or 15 months later than the originally projected.

The DOT gave an update Tuesday to the Macon-Bibb County Commission about the more than $8 million project, designed to improve safety along the well-traveled road.

The first phase of the project featured the realignment of the Old Lundy/Lokchapee intersection and the addition of a “four-legged intersection” at the realignment of Newport Road, Forest Lake Drive South, Normandy Road and Glenn Hill Court.

A stretch of the north Macon road has been widened enough to accommodate a future turn lane.

The remaining asphalt paving, striping, sidewalks and curb-and-gutter work should be completed by Oct. 31, DOT employee Keenan Ford said.

Landscaping improvements will continue until November 2018.

The transportation department has applied pressure on contractor R.J. Haynie and Associates “to provide enough personnel and equipment to get the job done” in a timely manner, Ford added.

Commissioner Mallory Jones, who lives near Forest Hill, said he’s changed his daily route because of the construction project. He spoke about the frustration felt by those who live along the street as they’ve dealt with issues such as potholes not being fixed quickly.

“It’s really just been a nightmare for them,” Jones said during the commission’s Facilities and Engineering committee meeting.

Forest Hill’s construction was originally projected to conclude by July 2016, with an overall completion date with landscaping two years later. A second projected construction end date in November 2016 also was not met.

The second phase of Forest Hill work calls for widening from Wimbish Road to Vineville Avenue.

Transit Authority committee

The County Commission agreed Tuesday to set up a committee that will weigh the pros and cons of having the Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority become a Macon-Bibb department.

The suggestion for the committee came from Mayor Robert Reichert, as commissioners were scheduled to discuss a potential takeover of the transit system during their meeting.

A Transit Authority board now oversees the system, which does receive some funding from the county.

“You’ve got an increasing demand for transit services in the community,” Reichert said. “We are currently not supporting the transit authority to the extent they can meet the demand.”

Alcohol license hearing

A hearing Tuesday for an alcohol license renewal was postponed until next week.

The hearing for M&M Grocery will instead be held next Tuesday before the regular County Commission meeting. The change in date was due to a need for a court reporter to attend the hearing, officials said.

Commissioners voted unanimously in June to deny the renewal for M&M Grocery because of a high volume of incidents at the 2766 Montpelier Ave. store.

In other business Tuesday, commission committees voted to move the following items onto the regular commission agenda:

▪  Using $118,200 of Commissioner Al Tillman’s blight bond money to acquire and tear down five structures on Napier, Brookdale and Grand avenues;

▪  Allocating $175,370 for a Walnut Street blight remediation project. Nine houses would be torn down with money that would come from Commissioner Virgil Watkins’ blight funds;

▪  A $550,000 agreement with California Skateparks to build phase two of the Central City Park skate park.

This story was originally published July 11, 2017 at 1:05 PM with the headline "Halloween is new target date for ‘major construction’ finish on big road project."