The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has awarded a multi-million dollar contract to a Norcross construction firm to build a roundabout on State Route 105/Cannon Bridge Road at Highway 115.
According to GDOT, Wilson Construction Management was the low bidder on the project. The state will pay the company $4,981,735 for the project – that’s twice what state transportation officials estimated the project would cost early last year.
The roundabout will be a first for Habersham County. It’s likely to be similar to the one installed on Hwy. 115 at State Route 52 in Lumpkin County, which opened in 2019.
Crews could begin construction on the new roundabout as early as this fall. The projected completion date is May 31, 2025.
Clarkesville roundabout delayed
A second, more controversial roundabout is still in the works for Clarkesville. However, plans to build a roundabout at the intersection of Hwy. 197 and State Route 17/US 441 have been pushed back a year.
“There is a delay related to utilities. The information is vital in order to finalize the design,” says Georgia DOT District One Communications Officer Elizabeth Johnson.
According to Johnson, the Clarkesville roundabout project is now scheduled to go out to bid in July 2024.
State and local officials have been discussing a roundabout at Clarkesville’s most heavily-trafficked 4-way stop for years. In May 2021, the public had their say.
GDOT conducted a survey to gather public input on the project and met with strong opposition. One of the concerns raised was how the roundabout would affect the location of Stoney’s Restaurant, which has been in the community since 1965.
Last year, GDOT explained its current plan for the roundabout takes those concerns into consideration, with roundabout entrances and exits going between businesses like Stoney’s and the gas station at the intersection. The current roads at that intersection would stay where they are to become entrance and exit points for the roundabout.
GDOT refers to the Clarkesville roundabout as a “safety project” because “it will reduce the number of crash points and frequency of accidents,” Johnson says.
The city will have a say in how the roundabout is designed. Clarkesville City Manager Keith Dickerson has signed a memorandum of understanding with GDOT for the roundabout. Right-of-way revisions and wall re-configurations are expected to be submitted in September of this year.
GDOT will include the city portion of the work in their contract.
Clarkesville has hired Falcon Design to complete the drawings for the project. Clarkesville says all expenses should be covered by ARPA funds.
