Unity Point stabilization still in the works
The 2013 SPLOST project is still waiting for design work.
Public officials in Rome have a general idea as to what they want to accomplish with a 2013 SPLOST project, but to date, there is still no design for work to stabilize the riverbank at Unity Point near Bridgepoint Plaza which overlooks the confluence of the rivers.
The downtown side of the junction of the Etowah and Oostanaula rivers has been eroding significantly through the years, due primarily to fluctuations of river levels. Unity Point was created as a terraced and landscaped overlook of the confluence of the rivers as part of the runup to the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
$1.8 million was earmarked in the SPLOST for what was billed as Unity Point/South Broad bridge improvements. Collections of the 2013 SPLOST will continue through March 2019.
City Manager Sammy Rich said he was envisioning some sort of a design similar to the Town Green but could not even put an estimate on what the project would
look like until he knew how much money the city would have to work with.
“I know working in that environment is expensive,” Rich said. “I may be thinking of a Cadillac but we might only be able to afford a Malibu.”
The project was intentionally put at the back end of the project list from the beginning.
“It will probably be more of a designbuild piece because it will involve a retaining wall system, whether its piles that are driven or something else,” said Rome Public Services Director Kirk Milam.
The goal of the project at the confluence is to re-establish use of the point as a terminal point for the trail system coming down the river and connecting over to Broad Street.
“A lot of that has been fenced off over the past few years and all that is to be restored,” Milam said. “Over the last several years, the city has done a lot of work at the point associated with improvements to a major sewer line so that’s got to be preserved.”
The project also included some improvements to the South Broad Bridge. The scope of that work includes improvements to sidewalks and historical appearance of the structure. It also included addition of ornamental bridge lighting and relocation of overhead utilities underground.
Milam said he’s not sure how many of those projects will actually get done.
Rome Finance Director Sheree Shore said that collections of the 2013 SPLOST have been running slightly ahead of projects. The tax collections would have been in even better shape, Shore said, but the community had to refund approximately a month and a half of collections to a Rome business that overpaid its taxes. The name of the business was not disclosed.