County considering paving amendment with increasing prices
News April 13, 2022
ELLIJAY, Ga. – Public Works Director Jim Smith delivered a letter to the Board of Commissioners during their monthly work session today with expectations to need a budget amendment for rising costs in materials for paving and other projects.
Due to continuing inflation in prices, the county is looking at an estimated 30 percent increase, according to Smith. He also reported a letter from Vulcan Materials notifying the county of intent to increase prices. In that letter, Smith noted that Vulcan is increasing its prices by $2.25 per ton on wash stone, this is the main stone Gilmer uses for its paving. Additionally, they will also increase by $1.25 per ton for base stone along other increases on other materials.
Smith noted that Vulcan isn’t the only increase as other areas are also experiencing the increases in parts, piping, equipment, and more. Even in the capital budget, the Road Department is looking at serious need for replacement or repairs on two bridges on Rock Creek Road. Other options for these bridges could mean use of box culverts or metal piping. The county may be dipping into funds set aside for asphalt paving to go towards these bridges.
Commission Chairman Charlie Paris said that while a budget amendment may be necessary, the county needs to look at multiple options. He noted that the county could be looking at that by years end for this, but would also be looking at an amendment of the road paving list, meaning that the county may not get to pave every road they had originally planned to pave this year. However, he did note that they would be looking at repairing sections of the road if not fully repaving them.
Post 1 Commissioner Hubert Parker asked if the annual bidding process guarantees prices, but Smith stated that the bids are not contracted in that way. He read that the letter stated pricing increases will take effect on June 1. One option discussed among the commissioners in response to the change would be to find another supplier and abandon Vulcan should they not honor the prices as they were bid. However, DOT must approve quarries for use with state grant money.
While Road Department was the most discussed, amendments in other departments could come as additional increases are being seen across the county as well as delays in supplies and orders for projects like the Parks and Recreation work in River Park.
Highway 382 roundabout project now in use as final stages commence
News October 4, 2021
ELLIJAY, Ga. – Highway 382 has seen construction on the roundabout project to connect a direct route to Highway 515 for nearly a year. The Georgia Department of Transportation project began in the latter half of 2019 despite the COVID-19 outbreaks and is still continuing today.
A view from entering the roundabout from Highway 382 and heading towards Highway 515.
However, the project has hit the point now where all traffic has been moved from the old route passing directly beside Green’s Country Store to the new path curving off just past Dollar General, if you’re traveling towards Ellijay.
The stop signs at the old intersection have been removed and traffic is now fully engaging the roundabout with the Highway 382 extension in use as well.
Utilizing the extension that now crosses Old Highway 5, via the roundabout, and continues straight towards Highway 515 instead of merging with Old Highway 5 before a a small connector split off to intersect 515 at Powersports Drive.
Construction continues into the final stages for the Old 5 and Highway 382 roundabout as it enters the final stages of construction.
The new direct path intersects Highway closer to town at the Gun Pro Shop. However, the intersection is not a traffic stop.
Instead, drivers traveling to 515 along the new connection are forced to turn right (Southbound) away from Ellijay before using a turn lane a few hundred feet down the road in order to turn back towards Ellijay.
The project reaches all the way back to 2016 when the Gilmer Board of Commissioners and the City of Ellijay received letters from GDOT about the coming project. Original seeking letters of support, discussion later turned towards lighting and maintenance costs for the roundabout itself as GDOT wanted the county or city to take over those costs while they continued paving maintenance for 382 itself.
GDOT has been working on the roundabout project since last year, but plans began back in 2016 with letters to Gilmer County and the City of Ellijay.
Current understanding is that these are the remaining steps in the project as GDOT has put some lighting on the roundabout for night traffic, but it was not seen operational over the weekend.
While the project continues these steps and clean-up, the larger portion of the project is now complete and has begun traffic flow only in the last couple of days. GDOT stated earlier this year that expectations were to complete the project over the summer. The project has seen delays through weather over the last year, but no specific details are available at this time on whether returning COVID-19 numbers or increasingly heavy rainfall in some weeks were the cause of any major delays.