No, Forest Hill Road construction won’t last forever. The end is in sight

New lights along Forest Hill Road have been turned on while construction winds down on the north Macon project.

The final inspection on the construction part of the project should be performed in about two months, said Kraig Collins, with the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Construction was recently anticipated to be finished by the end of November but is now targeted for early 2018, though landscaping will continue through the new year.

The street lights are now working, guardrails are being installed and signage is being put up as well.

The project has “come a long way in the last three months,” Collins said during Tuesday’s Macon-Bibb County Commission meeting. “Since that time the asphalt paving has been completed, striping has been completed, orange barrels have been set back from the roadway.”

The project’s cost has risen from $8.4 million to $9 million in part due to some modifications to the project, fuel adjustments and delays. The original completion date, including construction and landscaping, was March 31, 2017.

Landscaping improvements are about 85 percent finished. Crews will monitor landscaping through November 2018, Collins said.

“They have to come back in the spring, refurbish the straw and make sure the trees are still living,” he said.

Forest Hill Road has been widened from a stretch about 650 feet south of Northside Drive to about 400 feet north of Wimbish Road. A turning lane was added, and sidewalks were installed on both sides of the road.

New traffic signals have been put up at the new Old Lundy/Lokchapee intersection, and there is a new “four-legged intersection” at the realignment of Newport Road, Forest Lake Drive South, Normandy Road and Glenn Hill Court.

Insurance changes

Mayor Robert Reichert became impassioned Tuesday while answering questions about insurance coverage and pension plans.

A group of retirees came to the meeting to ask questions about the impact of higher insurance costs and the state of pension contributions.

In some cases, a retiree’s insurance costs may rise by as much as $1,200 next year based on the number of people covered under their plan.

The modifications were made to bring the county’s contribution back to 75 percent after its share had risen to about 80 percent. The county also has experienced higher insurance claims over the last year.

One financial issue left to be resolved is another retirement benefit fund that will likely run out of money by the end of the fiscal year. The county will make sure it uses money from the general fund to continue paying those benefits, Reichert said.

But by the end of his response, Reichert slammed his fist on the table while explaining the county will indeed contribute what is required for pension plans. He said rumors sometimes get out of hand about how the county is handling insurance coverage and pension funds.

“I have always been and will always be committed to keeping each and every pension fund actuarially sound so that it meets all the obligations to the people who have enrolled in it,” he said shortly before pounding the table.

This story was originally published November 28, 2017 at 12:43 PM with the headline "No, Forest Hill Road construction won’t last forever. The end is in sight."