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(Via Google Maps)
The White County Board of Commissioners signed off on a pair of items Monday that will have the state covering large portions of two transportation improvement projects.
Commissioners accepted a Local Maintenance & Improvement Grant (LMIG) from the Georgia Department of Transportation that is expected to provide $200,000 toward the cost of extending Claude Sims Road to a thoroughfare next to Tesnatee Gap Elementary School.
Current plans show road improvements and realignment along the existing Claude Sims Road from its intersection with Shepard Drive, near the Appalachian Parkway, with new road to be constructed to connect to a road by the school that ultimately runs into Tesnatee Gap Valley Road. Tying the roads together would provide additional access between schools for buses, teachers and parents.
County Public Works Director Derick Canupp said the project cost estimate is around $557,000 based on current plans. The state’s LMIG funding would potentially cover about 36% of that total.
Canupp said the county could proceed with the project in-house, though commissioners inquired about possibly getting quotes from outside contractors for comparison figures since using county staff would pull them away from other duties.
Chairman Travis Turner noted the conversations that he, Canupp and County Manager Joey Cason had with state officials to secure GDOT funding. The financial assistance is from a type of LMIG designated to aid projects related to education, economic development or emergency purposes.
Turner said he was unsure if the Claude Sims Road project would begin this calendar year as the county addresses other needed repairs to roads heavily damaged by storms and flooding.
At the same Jan. 31 meeting, commissioners approved a memorandum of agreement with GDOT for a planned replacement of the Town Creek Road bridge.
Canupp said the project has a current estimated cost of around $6 million, mostly covered by the state. The county will provide $75,000 for the right-of-way phase of the project.
Canupp said construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2025. Plans call for the existing bridge to remain open until the new one has been completed.