Among the agenda items for tonight’s Decatur City Commission meeting, signing an agreement with the Georgia Department of Transportation to fund Phase V of the Downtown Decatur Streetscape Improvements.
The city will need to put $199,200 towards the project to get a $796,800 matching Federal Transportation Enhancement funding. The total project cost is projected at $2.25 million, and “will be provided by the 2007 GO bond and HOST funds.” according to a letter from Deputy City Manager Hugh Saxon to City Manager Peggy Merriss.
According to the city’s webpage on the project…
The Phase V Downtown Decatur Streetscape project area includes the south side of East Trinity Place from North McDonough Street to Church Street, both sides of East Trinity Place from Church Street to just past the Fire Station, and Church Street from East Trinity Place south to East Howard Avenue. The purpose of the project is to improve accessibility and safety for pedestrians and to reduce conflicts between pedestrians and motorists. Potential improvements will be located in the public right of way and will include new sidewalks, crosswalks, curb ramps, street trees, pedestrian scale lights, and trash receptacles
Map courtesy of City of Decatur website
Sounds great. Anyone know when work might begin?
If the project process is anything like the Oakhurst streetscape improvements, I’d look for them to break ground sometime after 2021.
Without a Dairy Queen, who cares?
Well, there will eventually be a Dairy Queen again….Supposedly. Allegedly. Hopefully.
Granted I’m not in the industry, so may be missing something but the cost of these projects always baffles me. $2.25 million to redo the curbs, sidewalks, install some trees and lighting??
Yep. That and the labor adds up. Repaving is also expensive. Milling and resurfacing a 4-lane road is about $1.25M per mile.
And that is without unionized workers.
And it is mind boggling how fast the freshly repaved roads are being destroyed with all the heavy dump trucks, cement trucks and cranes driving over them day in and out. I wonder if the extra tax base being created will be able to offset this mess they are making.