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Commissioner Jeff Rader
Manuel J. Maloof Center
1300 Commerce Drive
5th Floor
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 371-2863
jrader@co.dekalb.ga.us
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| Public Works - Department Director's Update |
| Oct 16, 2006 |
Construction Projects.
Several more of the Transportation Bond-funded sidewalks were completed in the last few weeks.
McClendon Drive, east side, from Tanner Drive to Lindmore Drive.
The following Bond sidewalk projects are in progress:
1. Oak Grove, east side, from LaVista Road to Woodleaf Lane;
is about 98% complete.
2. Jody Lane, east side, from LaVista Road to Holly Drive; is about 75% complete.
Sidewalk work is just getting started at the following locations:
1. Briarlake Road, south side, from Briarcliff Road to Lakeside High School; to be completed by November 9, 2006.
2. East Ponce de Leon Avenue, from Brockett Road to Idlewood; to be completed by December 10, 2006.
About 18 miles of the 24 miles of Transportation Bond-funded sidewalks scheduled for 2006 construction have been completed year-to-date.
Most of the preliminary plans are completed for the 10 intersection improvement projects in the Transportation Bond program, and right-of-way acquisition has started for most of them (the LaVista Road at Frazier Road project has been put on hold for a corridor traffic study in conjunction with GDOT; whether improvements continue to proceed for that location will depend on the outcome of that GDOT coordination, since LaVista is on the State Route system.) By early 2007, the rights-of-way acquisition will be completed for several of the Bond intersection projects, and they will be bid. These projects are still on schedule to be completed in 2007.
Also within the last month, the Public Information Meetings were held for the 3 arterial road project packages in the Transportation Bond, along River Road, Redan Road and Briarcliff Road.
Comments for the Briarcliff Road improvements (primarily at the LaVista Road intersection), are more complicated because of the large-scale development proposal along that corridor. While the funding in the Bond issue will not allow for significantly greater improvements than what is currently proposed at LaVista Road, we will continue to monitor the development process and incorporate any additional features that this process yields, while trying to keep the roadway improvements on schedule for 2008 construction, as planned.
Overall, about $31.5 million of the $79 million Transportation Bond program has been spent or encumbered so far on the Resurfacing, Sidewalk, Intersection, Arterial Road and Traffic Signal synchronization projects in the bond issue. A breakdown of the expenses and encumbrances is updated monthly on the County's web site, www.co.dekalb.ga.us, and can be quickly accessed from the "Helpful Links" section on the home page, under the title Transportation Bond Updates. We are in good shape so far in completing the projects on the three-year timeline that we pledged to the CEO and Board of Commissioners, for 2006-8 construction of the projects.
Traffic Engineering has completed more than 785,000 lineal feet of roadway striping in 2006. They have also completed a full preventative maintenance cycle on the more than 600 traffic signals in the County.
The interchange reconstruction project at Lawrenceville Highway and I-285, is about 4% complete. They have started the clearing work, and will start this week in the median of I-285 on the bridge preparation work. This project includes complete interchange replacement, as well as re-alignment of Montreal Road at Lawrenceville Highway, and is a two and a half year contract, to be completed by December 31, 2008.
Buford Highway sidewalks and safety improvements, from Shallowford Terrace in Chamblee to I-285 in Doraville, are 80% complete; the contractor is complete with most of the sidewalks and the street lighting. They have installed 2 of the 4 pedestrian medians/refuge islands and they have the mast arms installed for the pedestrian signals at 3 of the 4 locations. The contractor has been given a time extension by GDOT to March 1, 2007.
No significant work has started yet on the intersection improvement project at Ponce de Leon Avenue and Hambrick. The first activity involves utility relocations, and several of the utilities are working to secure construction easements from the CSX Railroad to begin their relocations. The contract completion date is May 31, 2007.
The remaining major projects on schedule to bid in 2006 or early 2007:
Ponce de Leon Avenue at McLendon; turn lane construction and signal upgrades; all the necessary rights-of-way have been acquired by the County. This project is on the November 2006 letting.
Glenwood sidewalk and safety improvements, phase 1, from I-20 to Candler Road, is down to a few parcels of right-of-way left to acquire, that are owned by the East Lake community foundation; it should be ready to advertise bids by December 2006.
The Roads & Drainage storm water crews are complete with 10 of the 4th Quarter "Top 50" list of high-priority drainage repairs, and there are still two and a half months left in the Quarter, so they are continuing to address a large number of projects in a quick turnaround time.
Some of the current work in progress includes extension of a new storm system on Tobey Road (90% complete), pipe replacement on Arldowne Drive (30% complete).
Phase 3, Unit 1 construction at Seminole Landfill is about 87% complete. Work is continuing on the composite liner system: the secondary liner is complete and the contractor is working on the primary liner. They have stockpiled about 200,000 cubic yards of sand on site. The leachate collection line is complete, and they are continuing work on the permanent access road. The project is on schedule for completion by March 2007. The current cell in phase 2B of the landfill has projected capacity through October of 2007, so the County is in good shape for opening the new cell in phase 3 before the current cell has to close.
The Methane Gas to Electricity project at the Landfill is about 75% complete. The engines and main equipment have been installed, and they were started up on October 12, and produced 7 kilowatts of electricity for testing and acceptance purposes. Work is continuing on the building and support facilities for the site, with final construction to wrap up around the end of November.
Work is about 35% complete for the first phase of renovations to the Fleet Maintenance garage on Memorial Drive, near Rays Road. Building A exterior walls have been constructed, where the administrative offices will be located; and renovations are proceeding for Building D, where the Fire and Rescue Maintenance Shop will be located. The contractor is over a month behind schedule, and some of the work has not been accepted per the specifications, so some re-work has been required by the construction manager; final project completion will probably not occur until early 2007 at this point.
Environmental Quality
The Sanitation Division's subscription curbside recycling program now has over 10,591 households participating, and has diverted more than 2594 tons of recyclable material from the Landfill in 2006.
Keep DeKalb Beautiful's bi-annual Electronics Recycling Day will be on October 28, with drop off sites at Memorial Drive annex, and at Brook Run Park.
The Roads & Drainage/Stormwater section staff have distributed several hundred brochures about storm water runoff protection to county libraries and schools. They have also completed an additional 50 "Do Not Dump/Drains to Streams" stencils on catch basins and inlets along the storm water system, to continue to improve public awareness about keeping pollutants out of the storm system.
Efficiency
Congratulations to Fleet Maintenance and to the County Purchasing Department, for the most successful vehicle auction in the County's history. More than $1,950,000 was bid on surplus equipment, including about 40 surplus Sanitation packers. These funds help replenish the Fleet Replacement Fund, holding down the future costs of replacing vehicles.
Emergency Preparedness
Several Public Works management staff participated in the County's National Incident Management System (NIMS) training in September. In the final training exercise for the course, the group participated in a mock emergency at the Seminole Landfill facility, involving downed power lines and an overturned semi trailer; the Sanitation Division managers were in the lead for the exercise, and performed very well in cooperation with the Police and Fire Department management, in applying their training to the mock emergency. |
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