The City is working hard to build new bridges in the community, and not just in a metaphorical sense.
In their last meeting of the year, Dahlonega City Council members acted swiftly in pushing forward a motion to approve the chosen vendor for the long-awaited Morrison Moore Pedestrian Bridge & Sidewalk project at Lake Zwerner.
Having been in the works since 2018, the goal is to construct a bridge and sidewalk parallel to the current bridge over Yahoola Creek.
Among the final steps in acquiring the funding for the project is deciding through an open bid which company will be contracted for construction.
While this process typically takes place over multiple meetings, City officials sought to expedite the process due to pressure from the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and decided on Strickland & Sons as their vendor based on their low bid of $4.95 million.
“This is a project that has been in the works for a long time...” said Mayor JoAnne Taylor. “...It is very important. It will provide another sidewalk to the Walmart shopping center, which I think is huge for our community. As difficult as it is to be listening to the bid opening and voting in the same night, we’re gonna have to stick our courage to the sticking place.”
TAPPING IN
According to City Engineer Mark Buchanan and City Manager Allison Martin, the funding for construction is coming from GDOT through the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) which intends to support local governments investing in infrastructure that isn’t car-dependent.
GDOT is willing to fund up to $4.99 million with a 20 percent local match that the County has agreed to assist in supporting.
However, Martin did clarify that the additional funding for construction administration from GDOT is still technically not confirmed for the City’s taking. Normally, decisions like this are held off until such funding is fully approved, but Martin explained why there was a need to decide now, even before approval has been granted.
“The Georgia Department of Transportation is set to adopt new regulations in January 2025, so if we do not award and get permission to execute the documents, that would require redesign of the bridge which would cost several hundred thousand dollars and an even longer delay,” she said. “GDOT has assured that they are diligent in looking for funds… however if they are not successful, we do have adequate reserves in our T-SPLOST funds.”
To compensate for the unfortunate timing, Buchanan and Martin took the time to explain the contingencies they have in place in the event of potential deficits in the project’s funding. For example, Buchanan indicated that a portion of the TAP funds that would normally be set aside for post-construction administrative duties and inspections is planned to be funneled into initial construction. He estimated a projected $50,000 of available TAP funding after construction. This is intended to be further supplemented either by additional support from GDOT or the aforementioned Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (T-SPLOST).
“We’ll get creative,” he put simply.
WALK THIS WAY
Walkability has recently become a more involved topic of discussion, given recent trends in city planning that lean more car-dependent. Some citizens have expressed a desire to see Dahlonega's infrastructure more closely resemble downtown in terms of walkability.
“I really like the convenience of being able to walk to my favorite spots in town, and while I do resort to driving, I would walk everywhere if I had the option,” said Dominic Fox, a life-long resident of Dahlonega, who talked with The Nugget after the meeting. “Additionally, I know many people who aren’t able to drive for a number of reasons, which restricts their access to needed resources. I strongly support the City’s initiative to make Dahlonega more walkable, and I hope to see more changes like this in the future.”
The motion to approve the vendor passed unanimously, pending approval from GDOT for the funding.
While there are still a number of hoops to jump through, the City looks to begin construction as soon as possible in 2025.