It is nearly complete. Work on the retaining wall and sidewalk along Central Avenue/US Hwy. 441 in Demorest is nearing an end. The contractor still has to place sod between the wall and the sidewalk, erect the railing along the top of the wall, and restripe the road surface.
Contractor Vertical Earth Incorporated and, at times, the city’s public works employees have been working diligently since May 9 on the project. They demolished the old crumbling retaining wall that heavy rains damaged during Hurricane Delta in October 2020 and replaced it with a new concrete wall.
“The handrailing is the issue. It’s six weeks out. The sidewalk will not be opened. It will be the middle to late August (before the sidewalk opens),” says Demorest City manager Mark Musselwhite.”
Even with the delay, the contractor should meet the projected timeframe for completion the company set back in May, says Musselwhite.
First of its kind
The new wall is different and definitely unique. It was designed to look like a granite outcropping, complete with cracks and crevices.
Musselwhite tells Now Habersham this is the first time the Georgia Department of Transportation (GA DOT) has contracted for a styled design like this. A company out of North Carolina did the finishing work on the wall and has done similar projects nationwide.
“I think the wall looks great. It gives it a different texture rather than just sprayed on concrete. It’s to look like an aged granite rock with different weather-worn areas.” He adds that it is reminiscent of rock formations that a person would see going through the North Georgia mountains. “I think it’s got a very unique style to it.”
Georgia DOT agreed to pay Vertical Earth $733,000 to oversee the .189-mile-long repair project.
