Second Street Corridor completion could be delayed a year

Finishing the Second Street Corridor project could take another year because of outdated stormwater lines and a delay in bridge work.

While the first two phases of the $8 million project connecting Mercer University with downtown Macon were completed on time, the final phase that includes replacing a bridge has stalled.

The timeline for the corridor initiative — one of Mayor Robert Reichert’s signature projects — could be pushed back from an initial estimated completion of this coming fall to about November 2017.

A stormwater system under Hazel Street that needs substantial work is causing a major delay.

The county will have to use some of its special purpose sales tax revenue to fix the lines and culvert. The failing system was uncovered when an inspection was performed at the intersection of Hazel and Second streets, said Clay Murphey, who supervises sales tax projects for Macon-Bibb County.

“It’s a 150-year-old storm system that’s collapsing and needs more than a million (dollars) to repair,” he said. “We have to have it repaired before working on the bridge.”

Tearing down that bridge, known as the “hump bridge” because of its shape, also needs approval from railroad company Norfolk Southern before work begins on building a new one.

The Macon-Bibb Engineering Department has modified the plans and is now waiting to receive the go-ahead. Once it’s cleared, completing the bridgework should take about nine months. Because of the rail line that runs through the area, construction will be interrupted on occasion as trains pass through. Each time that happens, another OK has to be given to resume the project, Murphey said.

“There’s a big amount of work that we have to do on the right of way, and it slows progress down,” he said.

Reichert said the county was fortunate to uncover the stormwater problem before a larger problem arose. He said he hopes that Second Street construction can be finished more quickly than late 2017.

“I’m not sure how long a delay it’s going to be, but I hope not more than six to nine months beyond the time we originally (planned),” Reichert said. “But good things come to those who wait. We want to do it right, not slapdash and do a halfway job.”

The first phase of the Second Street Corridor, paid for with proceeds from the 2012 SPLOST, was a half-mile stretch that rerouted Little Richard Penniman Boulevard between Nussbaum Avenue and Telfair Street. That section includes pedestrian lights, sidewalks and increased green space, each aimed at promoting bicycling and walking in the neighborhood.

The second quarter-mile phase extends from Edgewood Avenue and Telfair Street into Second Street.

The project will not only make the Second Street Corridor more aesthetically pleasing but also more practical for all modes of traffic, county officials have said.

The connector is important because it links two interstates with Macon’s central business district, Reichert said.

“It’s going to create an urban footprint from the east side to west side, and I think it will do a lot to jump-start or continue the economic development we’re making around downtown,” he said.

The Second Street connector also ties into a $40 million-plus development — Mercer Landing — which includes a Marriott TownePlace Suites Hotel, restaurants and the pedestrian bridge that connects the Lofts at Mercer Landing onto campus.

In late 2014, Macon-Bibb officials celebrated the completion of the $1.3 million “vision block,” a stretch of Second Street between Poplar and Cherry streets that features reverse angle parking, painted bicycle lanes, new asphalt, shade trees and improved sidewalks.

That vision block is also part of a “tax allocation district,” which allows property tax revenue above a certain threshold to be reinvested into infrastructure.

But a missing component, which Reichert and top transportation officials have advocated, is an electric bus route that would travel the corridor and beyond. Macon-Bibb still needs to find a funding source — possibly grants — to cover an estimated $8 million needed to buy the buses and build a charging station.

“We definitely want to have some other transit, but that’s dependent on funding,” Macon-Bibb County spokesman Chris Floore said.

Another downtown project tied into the Second Street revitalization — Mid City Square, located at the intersection of Second and Pine streets — is still missing a corner.

The longtime owner of Wilson Electric Supply Co. has not agreed to sell the property to the county in order for it to become a park. The concept plan for Mid City Square is a central plaza surrounded by commercial and residential properties, including apartments and a possible hotel that would tie into the Medical Center, Navicent Health.

Macon-Bibb is not pressing the sale of Wilson Electric and is instead turning its attention to other development projects, Reichert said.

“We haven’t forgotten it, but we’ve got other projects that we are looking at that are coming ahead of it,” he said.

This story was originally published August 25, 2016 at 3:09 PM with the headline "Second Street Corridor completion could be delayed a year."