Published Saturday, June 20, 2009

Contract awarded for Newnan bypass widening

By Sarah Fay Campbell

The Times-Herald

It's official.

A contract for the widening of the busy Ga. Hwy. 34 Bypass between Bullsboro Drive and Carrollton Highway has been awarded.

The project went out to bid in April, and a contractor was chosen in mid-May. But the actual award, and the work on the project, was held up until issues with wetland mitigation credits could be worked out.

Those issues have now been cleared up, and, on Thursday, the contract was officially awarded to Sunbelt Structures of Tucker, according to Kimberly Larson of the Georgia Department of Transportation.

The contract amount is for $23,196,355.

The bypass project is designed as two projects -- one is widening from Jefferson Parkway to Carrollton Highway, and one is widening and intersection improvements from Jefferson Parkway to Bullsboro. But they will essentially be treated as one project with one contractor.

No one at Sunbelt Structures or the Georgia DOT could be reached Friday to give details about the project staging or when construction might commence.

In May, Larson said that a notice to proceed would be sent to the contractor once the wetland credit issue had been resolved. A pre-construction conference could be held shortly after the notice to proceed goes out.

The construction staging and details about how the work will progress will be worked out at the pre-construction conference.

The plans call for a four-lane divided highway with a raised median and bike lanes. Closed circuit cameras and an intersection video detection system will also be installed as part of the project.

Larson said in May that two new lanes will be constructed while people continue to drive on the existing roadway, and hopes are that there will only be minimal traffic disruptions.