On Saturday, October 29, 2016, Log Cabin Drive will be closed to through traffic from 7:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. from Mercer University Drive to Napier Avenue. The road is being closed so construction of the pedestrian bridge over Rocky Creek can begin. The contractor, Gregory Bridge Company, will be building the steel portion of the structure, and transportation and installation of the steel requires use of the roadway through that area.
On Saturday, drivers should plan to use Edna Place to travel between Napier Avenue and Mercer University Drive. Local traffic will be allowed to get to their homes from either end of Log Cabin Drive, but the bridge and a stretch of road on either side will be closed completely. Below is a map of the closure and detour around construction.
The pedestrian bridge will not be open after this weekend’s work. (The vehicle bridge will reopen Saturday evening after work on the pedestrian bridge is complete). During the next few weeks, the contractor will be pouring concrete and connecting the pedestrian bridge and guardrails to the sidewalks. Once the pedestrian bridge is complete and deemed to be safe, it will be opened up for people to walk across.
“This is huge step toward having a safe and walkable road for the residents of the Bellevue neighborhood,” says Macon-Bibb District 9 Commissioner Al Tillman. “For years, we’ve seen people walking along here in the grass and close to the road, and this will help people here get through the area, to the nearby shops and restaurants, and to the new Filmore Thomas Park, which opens next month.”
The new pedestrian bridge is part of a $1.6 million Log Cabin Drive safety improvement project that is funded by the voter-approved Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. It also includes repairs to the current roadway bridge over Rocky Creek; constructing new curb and gutter, sidewalk, drainage swales, drainage structures and driveways; realigning the intersection of Hollingsworth Road and Log Cabin Drive; adding a northbound left-turn-lane on Log Cabin Drive at Hollingsworth Road; and more. The general contractor for the Log Cabin Drive safety improvement project is R.J. Haynie & Associates, Inc.
The Bellevue community is currently undergoing a major improvement thanks to the SPLOST. In addition to the $1.6 million road safety project, Macon-Bibb County is finishing the new Filmore Thomas Park, something the community has been looking forward to for almost 30 years. The new Park was funded with approximately $1.7 million from the SPLOST, and it features a pavilion, splash pad, playground, basketball courts, sidewalks and trails, landscaping, and more.
About the SPLOST
The current SPLOST was approved by voters in 2011, with collections beginning in 2012. It would fund improvements, upgrades, construction, and more for six years or until $180 million was collected. Thanks to this additional penny – which studies have shown is paid mostly by people traveling into or through Macon-Bibb – there is a new Animal Welfare Center, new Juvenile Justice Center, three new fire stations, $39 million in new or improved recreation facilities, a new public safety radio system, vehicles and equipment for law enforcement, road and storm drainage repair, and more.
Commissioners, and the Macon-Bibb County Board of Elections, have placed the continuation of the SPLOST on the ballot on November 8, 2016. Should this be approved, it would continue the penny tax once the current one expires in March 2018. This would not be an additional penny on top of what people already pay.
The $280 million plan includes the next phases of recreation projects, federally-mandated closure of the landfill, courthouse renovations, runway extension at the Middle Georgia Regional Airport, stormwater repair and upgrades, public safety projects, and more. To develop the list of what was included, the County hosted a series of community meetings to hear directly from people.
You can read about the projects and what else is included in the planned SPLOST here. To see the active and completed projects covered under the current program, check out the detailed SPLOST site.