City streets to be paved in early 2013

Nearly seven and a half miles of city streets will be paved early next year as Phase II of the city’s street resurfacing program continues.
Phase I was completed in the last fiscal year and 7.47 miles were resurfaced at a cost of approximately $650,000.
The resurfacing program, divided over four phases, is being funded with proceeds from the 2008 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).
Cairo City Manager Chris Addleton submitted a proposed list of streets to be included in Phase II Monday night.
During the discussion of the proposed streets, Councilman Lannis Thornton requested Sixth Avenue N.W. from North Broad Street to Fourth Street N.W. be added to the list.
Addleton noted that street is on the Phase IV list, but another similar sized street could be pushed forward or Sixth could be added to Phase II for bid purposes.
Councilman Thornton noted that a lot of the streets on the list are “bunched together” and in the same general location.
Addleton said that was by design in order to obtain the most competitive pricing. “We get a lower price if the streets are in the same general location and they don’t have to move here and there to pave,” Addleton said.
Councilman Ernest Cloud said that Fourth Street S.E. in front of the Grady County Health Department is in need of resurfacing. The city manager noted that project is already on the Phase II list.
In addition to resurfacing of Fourth Street S.E., Mayor Pro Tem James H. (Jimmy) Douglas said some work needs to be done on driveways and ditches alongside the street. According to Douglas, many of the ditches are full and driveway culverts are not clean. “There is no way water can flow through and has to be running out on to the street,” Douglas said.
The council added Sixth Avenue N.W. to the Phase II list which brings the total project to 7.45 miles of streets to be resurfaced early next year.
Portions of the following streets in the northwest section are to be resurfaced: 6th Ave. N.W., 14th Ave. N.W., 15th Ave. N.W., 13th St. N.W., 14th St. N.W., 15th St. N.W., McQuaig St. N.W. and 12th Ave. N.W. A total of 1.98 miles of streets in the northwest section will be paved.
In the northeast section, portions of the following streets will be paved: Old Cannon Ford, Hill Crest Drive, Highland St., 3rd St. N.E., 5th Ave. N.E., 4th Ave. N.E., 3rd Ave. N.E., 2nd Ave. N.E., 1st St. N.E., 4th Ave. N.E., and 5th Ave. N.E. A total of 1.70 miles is to be paved in northeast Cairo.
On the southwest side of town, portions of the following streets are scheduled to be resurfaced: 11th St. S.W., Legion Blvd., Westbrook St., Hunter St., 14th St. S.W., Lewis St., 4th Ave. S.W., 3rd Ave. S.W. and 15th St. S.W. A total of 1.77 miles of streets in southwest Cairo will be paved.
In southeast Cairo, portions of the following streets will be paved in Phase II: Ben Hill Ave., Platt Ave., Stone Ave., Grady St., Emerson Ave., Hansell St., and 4th St. S.E. Those roads total 2.0 miles of city streets that will be resurfaced.
According to Addleton, the project will be put out for bid in January and a contract awarded in February with paving to begin in March 2013.
In related news, City Manager Addleton briefed the council on the upcoming Georgia Department of Transportation project to improve the intersection of GA Highway 93 South and Joyner Road.
Addleton said the state highway will be three laned for a distance of about a quarter of a mile and curb and gutter will be installed. This project will create a turn lane for access to Joyner Road, which has become a truck route for truck traffic going to and from Milestone Industrial Park and other commercial operations on 20th Street S.E. and Hall Road. The city is responsible for relocating utilities impacted by the project and the state’s estimate for the work is $215,000, which the city must pay.
The city manager did not anticipate this project moving forward so quickly and no matching funds were appropriated in the city’s 2012-2013 operating budget. However, the city manager has identified funding in the budget that can be redirected to cover the cost, which he said he believes will be less than the $215,000 estimate.