Water Pipeline Project Tears Up Alpharetta, Johns Creek Roads

Residents of neighborhoods along Kimball Bridge and Buice roads couldn't understand why just a week after a bridge, road and sidewalk project was completed the county is back tearing things up.

They asked Fulton County Department of Pubic Works representatives why this happened during a public meeting on the Alpharetta water transmission main project at Glen Abbey subdivision's clubhouse Thursday night.

The residents were told the bridge project was a Georgia Department of Transportation project, while the water main project was Fulton County's. The county, state and affected cities tried to work out the schedule, but couldn't.

That wasn't a good enough answer for the residents, who saw the tearing up of concrete that was just poured as a waste of taxpayer dollars.

They also didn't accept that speed bumps on Buice Road would be removed when contractors dug up the street to lay pipe, but wouldn't be replaced when the work was done.

Brad Sturgeon, a member of the Kimball Bridge Road Coalition, said the county and city need to get together in a few weeks and work out details of the project that will solve a lot of problems, such as not having a piece of construction equipment blocking sight lines at intersections, or getting the through lane lined up at intersections and not with an left turn lane from the opposite direction.

He also asked for a single point of contact who residents could reach whenever they had concerns. County official promised to provide a contact.

Rob Boccaro of the engineering firm Brown and Caldwell made the presentation, with Fulton County Department of Public Works officials helping to answer questions.

The $40 million project is 6.4 miles long, starting at Buice and Jones Bridge roads, going north up Buice Road and west along Kimball Bridge Road before reaching Westside Parkway. It follows Westside Parkway north to Thompson Road, where it turns west again until it reaches the Haynes Bridge Road realignment project. From there it will travel down Academy Street to Milton Avenue, turning back north on Canton Street until it meets Mayfield Road, where the project ends.

On Buice Road, parts of Kimball Bridge Road and on Thompson Street the water main will be buried underneath the existing roadway. That will require tearing up the pavement. To keep two-way traffic on Kimball Bridge Road, temporary lanes will be installed in places using the right of way. So those freshly poured concrete sidewalks will be torn up in several places.

Construction schedules:

• One section of Kimball Bridge east of GA 400 called the "gap" project will start on July 9.
• A 10,300-foot section from Buice Road to Fairview Court is scheduled to start at the end of this year.
• Kimball Bridge west of GA 400 will be bid at the end of 2013.
• Westside Parkway section will be completed by mid-2012.
• Thompson Street section goes out for bids in June.
• The final section along Academy and Canton streets will be bid in 2014.

To keep track of construction progress, the county has established a project website. By the fifth of each month the Department of Public Works expects to update a fact sheet on the project status.