It’s been a long time coming, and frankly, Debra Showalter says she’s tired of waiting. The Demorest resident says she’s fed up with the lack of progress on repairs to the cracked retaining wall on Historic Highway 441 in Demorest.
Showalter expressed her displeasure to city council members Tuesday during their regular monthly meeting.
“I would like to know if you have any updates on the wall, and if you do not, could we all start raising cane to get it done because it’s enough, is enough, is enough,” Showalter said.
Heavy rain from the remnants of Hurricane Delta damaged the wall the weekend of October 10-11, 2020. Pressure from the moisture-heavy soil caused the wall to crack and separate, allowing mud to seep through. A portion of the sidewalk above the wall then collapsed.
Showalter’s property sits above where the wall and sidewalk are damaged. She asked the council to find a better way to close off the sidewalk next to her property until it’s repaired. She says people keep tearing down the police tape the city put up and are using the sidewalk, ignoring the inherent hazards.
Showalter says she’s contacted the Atlanta television news stations about the situation.
“I had one of the young ladies that contacted me that wanted to know if they [GA DOT] had done anything yet. She said, ‘Keep us updated.'”
Raising ‘holy cane’
Demorest Interim City Manager Mark Musselwhite said he spoke with the DOT project manager on Tuesday.
“I was asked about the Windstream lines that are very low, and he has asked them to raise them,” Musselwhite said. He went on to explain that DOT is looking at a different way to shore up the wall by stacking sandbags and using a silt fence to prevent the existing rock from washing down the main road until the contractors start work next month.
Crews are expected to begin the repair work the first week in May.
“If they do not come back in May and get going on this, I’m going to start raising holy cane,” said Showalter. “I hope I have the support of a lot of the citizens who have seen the monstrosity of a broken wall for three years like we have.”
In mid-March, the city seemed to get ahead of itself when it posted that repairs were underway. On March 16, the Demorest Facebook page read: “Work has begun to repair the damaged retaining wall on Business 441 (Central Avenue) in Demorest. Motorists should expect delays in both directions in Demorest as Georgia DOT crews work.”
Part of the delay in getting to this point stems from early disagreements between the city and DOT over who was responsible for making the repairs. Once DOT took on the project, the agency then had to bid out the work. Earlier this year, the state transportation department awarded the $732,928 contract to Vertical Earth Inc. out of Cumming. The company will repair .189 miles of wall.
State transportation officials estimate the project will be completed by the end of this year.
