Safety's price - $3.7 million
Thu, Mar 27, 2008
By EMILY STRANGERThe Brunswick NewsConstruction of a permanent concrete divider between opposing lanes on the F.J. Torras Causeway will begin sometime after July 1, Steve Henry, director of operations at the Georgia Department of Transportation, said Wednesday. But don't ask him exactly when it will start or what it will look like. Right now, he doesn't know."We can't say what it will look like yet because we have to look at all the safety components, but the engineers have already started working on it," Henry said in a crowded conference room of the historic Glynn County Courthouse, downtown.Henry explained some of the details of the project during a meeting Wednesday with Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering, the Glynn County Commission and Brunswick officials. While he understands the feeling of urgency, it's not something the state can rush in to, he said."We can't just put a wall up," he said. "There is a lot to consider, like allowing gaps for emergency vehicles and looking at drainage."Henry said the causeway's bridges will require special consideration. He said it would not be practical to place the added weight of a concrete wall on them."You can't just put a lot of dead weight on a bridge," he said. "We'll probably put some sort of cable barrier, but I can't say for sure."The causeway barrier has been added to the transportation's fiscal year 2009 budget, which begins July 1. Construction will begin some time within the following 12 months, Henry said, noting that he is unable to pinpoint a specific month.Mark McKinnon, media relations manager for the transportation department, said the project will cost about $3.7 million. Eighty percent will be funded by the Federal Highway Administration and the rest by the state, he said.Henry said the recent string of fatalities – five since Dec. 26 – bumped the causeway up to the third slot on the department's list of dangerous roads in the state that need immediate attention. He said he could not say which two roads in the state are considered to be dangerous."There's a lot to consider in which roads are priorities, like the roadway lengths, width, shoulder space and car data count," he said. The barrier project won't be the department's first attempt at making the causeway safer for motorists. It completed a buffering project this past June on the causeway that was designed to make the 4-mile-long roadway safer.A center median, defined by painted lines and rumble strips, was created to widen the separation between eastbound and westbound traffic lanes.The five fatalities have occurred since then.County Commission Chairman Don Hogan, who attended the Wednesday meeting, said the commission is thankful to the transportation department for its decision to install the barrier."I am very impressed with the new (state transportation) commissioner, Gena Abraham, and I think the department will come up with some good solutions," Hogan said.Until construction begins on the barrier, Hogan said the county will look at installing signs to warn motorists to pay attention to the roadway."We're still talking and seeing what else can be done," Hogan said.
|
|
|
