Lafayette Road Corridor project update
Six years ago, the Appalachian Regional Commission notified the city of Fort Oglethorpe that it had been approved for a $3 million grant to improve a short segment of Lafayette Road. The work that went into applying for the grant began three years earlier and involved public officials, the Fort Oglethorpe Downtown Development Authority, community leaders and residents.
Former Fort Oglethorpe city manager Jennifer Simpkins summarized the history of the Lafayette Road project in her State of the City speech on Nov. 14, 2019, thus:
♦ December 2013: The Appalachian Regional Commission notified the City that a $3 million grant had been approved to build 0.8 miles of access road to a federal park.
♦ Summer/fall 2015: The project manager, GDOT, held a project kickoff meeting and an initial concept meeting.
♦ December 8, 2015: GDOT and City of Fort Oglethorpe hosted a public information open house at The Colonnade to introduce the conceptual layout as developed by Heath and Lineback Engineers.
♦ 2017: GDOT hosted a meeting with city officials in Atlanta for a project update and review of design plan as created by Arcadis. Heath and Lineback Engineers were no longer involved in the project design.
♦ July 2018: City Council approved $91,175 to acquire 53 driveway easements for the project
♦ August 7, 2018: GDOT and the city of Fort Oglethorpe hosted public information open house meeting No. 2 at City Hall to present the final plan.
♦ August 21, 2018: Mayor and City Council submitted a request to GDOT to modify the design based on feedback from the open house. The modified plan containing two medians instead of five was approved.
The modification made to plans in August 2018 was based in large part on objections and a petition by Lafayette Road business owners who said planned medians would make getting in and out of their businesses difficult to impossible.
Jeff Long, director of public works for Fort Oglethorpe, says that GDOT should be about finished acquiring the 53 easements it needs to begin actual construction on
the project.
“Things can change in the project,” says Long, “based on how far the money goes.” Long says the $3 million grant must also cover administrative costs incurred by GDOT.
The project will begin at Harker Road close to Chickamauga Battlefield. It’s possible, says Long, that money will run out by the time work reaches Forrest Road or at some other point. In that case, other options would have to be considered to finish the work all the way to Battlefield Parkway.
Long says alterations can be made in the plans, if needed, to stretch the project as close as possible to its original parameters. Cost can be affected by many things, he says, including the price of materials used, which can fluctuate. Long says in a case like that, an alternate plan might offer the option of using less material or eliminating some element of the project that can be addressed at a later time, like certain lighting.
Nevertheless, says Long, there is still the possibility that the project budget will not accommodate work all the way to Battlefield Parkway.
While GDOT is mostly in charge of the corridor project, the city of Fort Oglethorpe, says Long, plans to take advantage of the construction to replace the nearly 100-year-old water main running under Lafayette Road from White Street to just south of Harker Road. The city will also be replacing the water main up Old Lafayette Road starting at White Street, heading north, and ending at Diane Lane just before Battlefield Parkway.
Tamara Wolk is a reporter for The Catoosa County News in Ringgold, Ga., and Walker County Messenger in LaFayette, Ga.