During his annual State of the Community Address, Mayor Lester Miller gave a glimpse into some major projects happening, some of which will be announced in further detail or begun in the next few weeks.
“Envision hundreds of miles of roads repaved or repaired thanks to our Paving the Way program funded by the recently passed SPLOST. This is why I am asking commissioners to approve a bond in May for up to 25 million dollars allowing Macon-Bibb to pave 25 years of roads in the next 4 years,” he announced to a loud round of applause from the audience.
Paving the Way program is an effort to repave, restripe, and fix the worst roads in the county. StreetScan, a leader in infrastructure assessment technology, completed a detailed evaluation of 1,124.57 miles of county-owned paved roads. This assessment will help determine which are the worst roads and develop a priority list for paving.
StreetScan used advanced LiDAR technology, 360° imaging, and AI-powered analytics, to create a comprehensive digital map of Macon-Bibb’s road network. From here StreetScan will process the collected data to produce a pavement condition index (PCI) for each street, locations and types of distresses on each street (cracks, potholes, etc.), and 360 imagery for each street. This information is expected to be ready in the next 3-4 months.
“For too many years, a lack of funding meant our roads deteriorated faster than we could fix them,” said Mayor Lester Miller. “We have already put millions more into this work and begun catching up by focusing on our worst roads, but now we need to determine which are coming next.”
In the first round of Paving the Way, nearly $15 million was allocated from the general fund, Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), and state Local Maintenance & Improvement Grants (LMIG). The amount allocated is nearly five times more than used in previous years.
Roads that have been repaved/restriped and had reflector replacement include:
- Belmont Avenue
- Atwood Circle
- Ann Place
- Atwood Drive
- Hawkins Place
- Evers Place
- Sorrell Drive and Sandy Drive
- Carriage Way area, off of Rivoli Drive, to include Saddle Run Court, Carriage lakes Court and Derby Lane.
- Forest Hill Road from Rogers Road to Wimbish Road;
- Hollingsworth Road from Mumford Road to Log Cabin Drive;
- Morgan Drive from Napier Avenue east to Austin Avenue;
- Willow Lane;
- Franklin Street Lane;
- Casablanca Drive;
- Weaver Road;
- Hubbard Road;
- Vine Street from Napier Avenue to Lawton Avenue;
- Napier Avenue where it connects to Vine Street;
- Ell Street from Houston Avenue to Chappell Street;
- Plant Street at Little Richard Penniman Boulevard;
- Hunnicut Road off of Fulton Mill Road;
- Lower Thomaston Road;
- Appling Court near Shurling Drive and Eastview Avenue;
- Dennis Court near Shurling Drive and Eastview Avenue;
- Kevin Drive from Millerfield Road to Shady Road Plaza;
- Old Clinton Road from Wood Valley Road to Ben Hill Drive; and
- Gwinnett Drive.
- Joe Tamplin Industrial Boulevard from Ocmulgee East Boulevard to Riggins Mill Road;
- College Street from Riverside Drive to Georgia Avenue;
- Rutherford Avenue from Houston Avenue to Antioch Road;
- Antioch Road from Rutherford Avenue to Heard Avenue;
- Antioch Place from Antioch Road to Antioch Heights;
- Antioch Heights from Antioch Place to the dead end
- Walmar Drive;
- Groveland Circle North;
- Groveland Circle South;
- The intersection of Log Cabin Drive and Napier Avenue;
- Arkwright Road near River North; and
- A section of Fulton Mill Road.
The County used C.W. Matthews, Mid-States Striping, Professional Paving Services, and Reeves Construction to handle different aspects of the first round of Paving the Way. Other roads that have had repaving, restriping, or patch work include: Jeffersonville Road, Masseyville Road, Recreation Road, Riggins Mill Road, Rogers Road, Skipper Road, 7th Street, South Walden Road, Duffey Drive, Castlegate Road, Hillcrest Avenue, Masseyville Road, Rocky Creek Road, and Lawrence Drive South.