As you drive through Demorest, you will notice the orange barrels along both sides of the road between Demorest-Mt. Airy Highway and Piedmont University. Crews put the barrels there in preparation for the Johnny Mize Bridge replacement project over Hazel Creek.
The project, years in the making, is expected to get underway within the next few weeks.
Paving the way
According to Demorest City Manager Mark Musselwhite, city crews will begin moving water lines on the south side of the bridge around mid-October.
Demorest has contracted with Higgins Construction to move the sewer lines. They will begin work on October 11.
Sewer line crews will start on the north side of the bridge at Demorest-Mt. Airy Highway and proceed south to Ivy Street. They will then move to the south side of the bridge at Demorest Lake Road, bore under the road, and connect the south and north ends of the sewer line.
Crews must complete both projects by January 2024, weather permitting.
Once workers have moved the water and sewer lines, the Georgia Department of Transportation will build temporary bridges on either side of the existing bridge, to allow traffic to continue flowing while they dismantle and replace the existing bridge over Hazel Creek.
In April, the Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT) awarded Vertical Earth of Cumming a $6.8 million contract to build the new .284-mile long bridge.
The contractor has received a Notice to Proceed and anticipates starting construction as soon as the Georgia DOT district office approves its project calendar.
The new bridge is expected to be completed by January 31, 2026.
“We will be the ‘city of orange barrels’ for the next two and a quarter years,” Musslewhite says.
Hwy. 115 roundabout
Those organge barrels are not only limited to downtown Demorest. On the outskirts of town, crews are preparing for another major transportation project.
Musslewhite says the city is having to move water lines in the State Route 105/115 area so that Georgia DOT can begin construction of a roundabout.
“We will probably be out there in the middle of October too,” he says.
The city manager tells Now Habersham crews will have to bore under two roads to move infrastructure. He anticipates that project will take them at least three weeks.
Earlier this year, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) awarded a $4.9 million contract to Norcross-based Wilson Construction Management to install the roundabout. It will be a first for Habersham County.
The Demorest roundabout is expected to be similar to the one installed on Hwy. 115 at State Route 52 in Lumpkin County, which opened in 2019.
Habersham’s first roundabout is scheduled to open by May 31, 2025.
