NEWS - State Biz Breaking News

SBJ Staff Report

Oct 3, 2011 - The Georgia Department of Transportation has approved more than $97 million in 10 new transportation infrastructure improvement and maintenance projects across the state today, including $52 million to be spent on Interstate Highway 75 improvements in Dooly County and $30 million to widen Interstate Highway 520 (the Bobby Jones Expressway) in Augusta.

This work is in addition to the projects already awarded and announced back in May. Since May, Georgia DOT has begun 125 new projects over summer, valued at more than $500 million. Much of the funding has come from Federal stimulus and highway funds.

A project in Liberty County was approved, using Federal funds. The project includes 5.552 miles of milling, inlay and plant mix resurfacing on U.S. 84/SR 38. The resurfacing will start south of SR 119 and extend east to Ryon Avenue. The low bidder was Baker Infrastructure Group, with offices in Garden City and Atlanta. The Garden City office submitted the successful bid for $ 2, 167,968.24.

The largest of the nine other most-recently authorized projects include:

- A $52-million contract to replace 11.5 miles of the concrete surface of I-75 in Dooly from the Crisp County line to Pinehurst/Hawkinsville Road; to joint venture of E.R. Snell Contractor, Inc., of Snellville, and McCarthy Improvement Co., of Davenport, IA;

- Adding one lane in each direction on Bobby Jones for the approximate five miles between U.S. Highway 1 and Gordon Highway, including constructing a new I-520 bridge over Deans Bridge Road; to Pittman Construction Co., of Conyers, for $29.9 million;

- And, the erection of center median cable barrier on 34 miles of Interstate Highway 20 in Douglas, Carroll and Haralson counties from State Route 5 to the Alabama state line; for $2.2 million, to the Crowley Company, Inc., of Minneapolis, MN.

The department has gone through several key management changes lately. On Sept. 3, Vance Smith, Commissioner of the Department of Transportation resigned. Prior to his resignation, Smith appointed Department Operations Director Keith Golden to the position of Deputy Commissioner. In accordance with state law, the Deputy serves as interim commissioner in these circumstances.

Deputy Commissioner Golden began his new duties immediately. He is a 25-year Georgia DOT veteran, and a licensed professional engineer with both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in civil engineering from The Georgia Institute of Technology.