This busy Macon road will look radically different in the next few years
Anyone who has driven down Jeffersonville Road knows a strong shock absorber is needed to navigate the bumpy and narrow path.
Finally, over the next several years, construction will be underway to create a smoother and safer ride along the busy east Macon road. State and local officials, along with community members, celebrated the start of the Jeffersonville Road project Friday.
The start of the project was long overdue but a welcome sight. The Jeffersonville Road project has faced numerous delays and challenges since the 1990s.
“The people on Jeffersonville Road in east Macon will finally have a non-dangerous place to drive, to walk and to play and to build economic models around a new highway that’s going to run through,” state Rep. James Beverly, D-Macon, said.
The 1.5-mile project will widen the road from Emery Highway to Recreation Road. Also being widened is Millerfield Road from Jeffersonville Road to Bristol Drive. Two additional lanes will be added on Jeffersonville Road as well as a center turn lane.
Other work includes installing sidewalks, lighting and pedestrian crossings, building a new Walnut Creek bridge above the flood plain, and putting in new traffic signals at the Emery and Millerfield intersections.
The funding for the $20.5 million project is coming from the federal highway agency, Macon-Bibb County, Macon Water Authority, Georgia Power and other utilities. Macon-Bibb will contribute $520,000 from its special purpose local option sales tax proceeds.
Construction crews will continue clearing the right of way over the next couple of weeks before work begins on putting in new utilities, County Engineer David Fortson said.
“Once those utilities get moved, then work on the building the road can finally get started,” he said.
The original funding for Jeffersonville Road was to come from a 1995 road tax, but that well ran dry before it was spent on the project. Eventually the funding was restored, but other issues down the line would delay the project.
Some of the delays were caused by environmental concerns having to be hashed out before plans were given the OK.
It also took time to coordinate the extensive utilities overhaul. And last year questions arose about how to deal with the large transmission lines by Walnut Creek bridge.
Friday’s event brought out some of the Macon leaders who were involved in the early stages, including former Macon Mayor C. Jack Ellis and former City Councilman Theron Ussery, now a member of the SPLOST advisory committee.
State Sen. David Lucas and County Commissioner Elaine Lucas were also credited with continuing to advocate for the project.
“It is finally coming to fruition. It is long overdue,” Ussery said.