Fort Oglethorpe awards construction bid for Mack Smith Road roundabout.
The city of Fort Oglethorpe is closing in on construction of a roundabout on Mack Smith Road after awarding the bid for the work during the April 9 City Council meeting.
The roundabout, which would be at the intersection of Mack Smith Road and Steele Road, has been in the works for awhile. But Public Works and Recreation Director Jeff Long says the project could start in early May now that the bid process is complete.
“This will be for the construction to do the roundabout there at Mack Smith and Steele Road,” Long said. “We bid that out the first part of the year and we had three bidders. The low bid was Talley Construction at $490,661.67.”
Long explained that as far as funding goes, $350,000 is already allocated in the city’s budget, and that the remaining $140,661.67 will be requested to come from the city’s fund balance.
During discussion before the vote, Councilman Jim Childs asked how long the work might take.
“What’s the timetable on this?” Childs asked.
“I believe it is 120 or 150 days on that,” Long replied.
Long also explained that Catoosa County’s recent TSPLOST (Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) vote halted the process to a degree prior to the bid being awarded.
“We held off on it (the roundabout) because of the TSPLOST ballot because if we approved it before that (vote), then we couldn’t have used that money if it did pass, so we held it off for,” Long said. “The timing is hopefully working out well with the weather getting better, so they’ll be able to get started on it pretty quickly.”
The discussion also included Councilwoman Paula Stinnett asking for details about the roundabout’s median and how larger vehicles will fare in the new traffic flow.
“It is accommodated for tractor-trailer traffic. It meets all the requirements because it was designed by GDOT guidelines,” Long said.
Long added that if 18-wheelers did have any kind of issue, the center of the roundabout will consist of a concrete median that won’t ruin vehicles.
“It’s what they call a ‘drivable edge’, so if a tractortrailer did come around and wasn’t an experienced driver or whatever, the back wheels could still go over the edge of it,” Long said. “It won’t be a stand up curb. It’ll be a tapered slope.”
The board unanimously approved the bid award, which brings a long-awaited project closer to fruition.
In early 2018, the city accepted two land donations as part of the roundabout plan: a 0.58-acre donation from ERTH Inc. and a 0.03-acre piece from Emerson Properties.
The roundabout plan came into the fold after an extensive traffic study was conducted when rezoning for a 60-home housing development on Steele Road was approved in late 2017.