Catoosa County law enforcement teaming up to patrol Ringgold construction area
Catoosa County’s three main law enforcement agencies will soon be teaming up to patrol the major road construction planned for Ga. Highway 151 (Alabama Highway) in Ringgold.
The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has been planning a widening of Ga. 151 from Holcomb Road to U.S. Highway 41 in Ringgold for years, and awarded a nearly $35 million bid to do so this past spring. Now, contractors have reached out to local law enforcement for help in patrolling the construction zone and directing traffic.
The widening will be from a two-lane roadway to a four-lane divided with a 20foot raised median to Boynton Road/Lafayette Street and flush median to U.S. 41. The project also includes the replacement of the existing bridges over I-75 and South Chickamauga Creek, and the reconstruction of the existing I-75/Ga. 151 interchange.
Catoosa County Sheriff Gary Sisk says he and the chiefs of both Fort Oglethorpe and Ringgold police departments have agreed to share the additional workload.
“The construction company is requesting that we have officers stand by and direct traffic during the project,” Sisk said. “There’s a demand and they’ll be needing officers there while the work is going on.”
Even though the Sheriff’s Department is the lead agency in the county, the work is being done inside the Ringgold city limits. Bringing Fort Oglethorpe into the mix furthered the need for a memorandum of understanding between the three municipalities and their agencies.
The intergovernmental agreement was approved by all involved in late July.
“When the company calls us needing officers, we post it out so one agency doesn’t take it all on,” Sisk said. “Typically, officers get burned out and things like that. It’s an after-hours thing in addition to their regular shifts.”
Sisk says the agreement between the agencies and cities gives Fort Oglethorpe, for example, jurisdiction in the area where it doesn’t usually have it.
“There were jurisdictional issues... the understanding gives officers the power to take initial action if needed,” Sisk said.
Traffic issues
Sisk says there will be some traffic issues while the work is going on, but that it will be managed efficiently.
“The majority of lane closures will be during night-time hours,” he said. “As far as work during daytime, they’re aren’t going to interrupt the flow of traffic to the best of their ability.”
Sisk suggests that residents begin exploring alternate routes with the work slated to begin soon.
“We are recommending people start finding other routes to the interstate,” he said. “Try to detour yourself if possible to get to the interstate because that’s an area with the most congestion.”
Construction crews have already stated that the two bridges along Ga. 151, above I-75, and near the Walgreen’s at Chickamauga Creek, will be the first areas of focus during the project.
In other construction, Sisk says Three Notch Road near Fire Station 6 will also be closed for an unspecified amount of time while crews replace a bridge.
“That area of Three Notch is going to be closing right around the time school starts,” Sisk said.