City gets close to $3M for highway project

A Sandy Springs road project with a $13 million budget that has challenged the city is getting help from the Fulton Perimeter Community Improvement District.

The organization is providing $2.8 million in funding to help with right-ofway acquisition of property and construction of the Mount Vernon Highway improvement project. Sandy Springs City Council approved a partnership agreement with the Perimeter Community Improvement District and the funding during a Dec. 21 meeting.

Sandy Springs plans to improve the Mount Vernon Highway corridor from Vernon Trace to Perimeter Center West at the Sandy Springs MARTA station. The project includes improvements at Crestline Parkway, Barfield Road and Peachtree Dunwoody Road intersections as well as multiuse paths for bicyclists and pedestrians.

In a December memo to the interim city manager, Public Works Director Marty Martin said the project had been challenged by escalating costs. Accord

ing to Martin, the $13.4 million cost breakdown includes $900,000 for preliminary engineering, $2.5 million for property acquisitions and $10 million for construction work.

“Transportation improvement projects are a key priority for the city and the (Community Improvement District) is uniquely positioned to facilitate and expedite the implementation of this joint project,” Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul said in a statement.

Sandy Springs is funding its portion of the project with $10.6 million in transportation special purpose local option sales tax funds approved by voters in 2016.

Construction could start at the end of 2022 and is expected to last two years, Martin said.