Next influx of Macon road projects could start in the spring

More orange traffic cones could be showing up throughout Macon-Bibb County in the spring, when about $2 million in roadwork is expected to commence.

The County Commission will likely vote Tuesday on a resolution to move forward with 28 road projects that will receive $1.4 million in grant funding from the state's Department of Transportation.

Macon-Bibb would match 30 percent of the grant, which would come to about $433,000.

The 18.1 miles of work involve areas such as engineering, resurfacing and patching asphalt, according to the project report.

The projects range from $322,518 of upgrades on Bowman Road to $3,000 for handicapped ramps on Forsyth Road.

"The contractor will get a notice to proceed and begin work on those roads in April," said Macon-Bibb County engineer David Fortson. "It'll take several months to do the work."

The money for Bowman Road will go toward maintenance along a 2.21 mile stretch from Bass Road to Wesleyan Drive. Also, a total of $369,764 would be used for preliminary engineering studies on separate Jeffersonville and Bass road projects.

Eventually, Jeffersonville Road improvements will stretch from Emery Highway to the Fall Line Freeway, while 5 miles of upgrades to Bass Road will run from Riverside Drive to Zebulon Road.

"This money will help pay for some of the engineering costs, but it won't pay for all of it by any means," Fortson said. "Every little bit we can take off the local budget is a help."

Each of the other projects is less than 1 mile in length and mostly involves basic road maintenance.

To contact writer Stanley Dunlap, call 744-4623 or find him on Twitter @stan_telegraph.

This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 9:52 PM with the headline "Next influx of Macon road projects could start in the spring ."