Officials maneuver through winding east Macon thoroughfare project

The widening of Jeffersonville Road could finally begin in 2017 after years of getting budgetary, utility and environmental issues in order.

The designs for the first phase of the project — widening Jeffersonville Road from Emery Highway to Recreation Road — are close to being completed. Macon-Bibb County is working to acquire the final several properties along the corridor, and demolition should begin in the next couple weeks on some of the houses along the right of way, a county official said.

Once the designs get cleared, construction on the Georgia Department of Transportation project could begin in late summer or early fall 2017, County Engineer David Fortson said.

The project has been about 20 years in the making, dating back to the 1990s when a special road tax went into effect.

Commissioner Elaine Lucas said it’s been difficult describing all the moving parts that must be in order before construction starts. Like some residents, Lucas is ready to see the pavement being pounded.

“It’s hard explaining to people all the different steps that have to take place,” she said. “All they want to see is the road being broken up and cement down, but there’s so much stuff being done from identifying new money to getting utilities in order.”

Coordinating the utility work has been one of the more difficult parts of the process, Forston said. That’s because only one utility company can work at a time on their lines.

“There’s a a large number of utilities out there,” he recently told commissioners. “Georgia Power has both distribution and transmission lines, water and sewer, AT&T has lines out there.”

Fortson said he thinks that issue is close to being resolved.

“At this point we don’t think we’ll have to buy additional right of way for utility placement,” he said.

Once completed, the enhanced Jeffersonville Road will be able to better handle more traffic and with a new sidewalk and multi-use path safety will also be improved, officials said.

Rough stretches of Jeffersonville will also be freshly paved and a bridge will be repaired.

“The bridge over Walnut Creek will be lengthened and raised to reduce a constriction of Walnut Creek that will protect the bridge from failure during high flows,” Forston said in an email.

The first phase will extend to another previously completed Millerfield Road project. However, Jeffersonville’s second phase — from Recreation Road to Emery Road — remains on hold, as attention is focused on this phase, Fortson said.

The full project entails improvements along a 2.3-mile stretch of the highway from Emery Highway to U.S. 80.

“Enhanced road striping will be provided as well as improved pedestrian signal indicators for traffic signals,” Fortson said. “The corridor will be lighted, providing greater visibility for vehicles and pedestrians.”

Incorporating new lighting and landscaping into the project has caused some of the delays in the past year or so but are important in making Jeffersonville Road safer and more aesthetically pleasing, Lucas said.

“We don’t want something that just looks like a big asphalt jungle,” she said. “We want it to be as attractive as it can be coming through two residential neighborhoods.”

While the original funding for the project came from the 1995 road improvement tax, since then other local sources, including the current special purpose local option sales tax, have been used to pay some of costs.

Georgia’s DOT will cover construction costs and reimburse Macon-Bibb for right-of-way expenses related to land and relocation. The county is paying for the designs and some of the legal and clearing costs associated with the right of way, Forston said.

DOT currently has budgeted about $19 million for right of way and construction.

At one point, a special road tax approved in the 1990s went dry before more money could be spent on Jeffersonville Road.

“State Sen. David Lucas, (former Bibb County) Commission Chairman Sam Hart and the late Commissioner Lonzy Edward worked to make sure that money was put back in place,” Elaine Lucas said.

Over the years as project costs changed, local and state governments had to iron out different agreements. Also, some environmental issues related to a stream and railroad crossing also took more time than anticipated. And this year, members of a Macon transportation committee said they were worried if another delay could arise because of the relocation of a railroad line that crosses the Lakeside Reservoir

But now efforts continue to move forward and sometime in 2017, a construction crew is expected to be working along the road that winds through east Macon.

This story was originally published October 2, 2016 at 8:50 PM with the headline "Officials maneuver through winding east Macon thoroughfare project."