Friday, January 12, 2001
Friday, January 12, 2001 |
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West Village hookup: cart path bridge over railroad gets money from state
By JOHN
MUNFORD The Georgia Department of Transportation has decided to chip in $200,000 toward the construction of the cart path bridge to span the CSX railroad tracks and connect the West Village area to the rest of Peachtree City. The bridge, projected to cost between $600,000 and $800,000, will have to wait, though. Since the DOT funding won't be available until June of 2002, the city will wait until then to solicit bids for the project, said City Planner David Rast. The bridge will hook up to the path behind the Marketplace retail center, and it will cross over to Line Creek Baptist Church, Rast said. From there the path will extend to the future Wal-Mart and Home Depot stores, he said. RAM Development has agreed to put the paths in place for Wal-Mart and Home Depot, Rast added. The city is asking the DOT whether it could be feasible to locate the bridge near the Ga. Highway 54 roadway bridge. That way, the city could use the DOT's right-of-way without worrying about securing additional right-of-way from the railroad. But much of that concept depends on how long it might take for the state to widen that bridge when Hwy. 54 is eventually expanded to four lanes, Rast said. The timing of the highway widening also hinges on another cart path project involving the bridge: tunneling the cart path system under the highway to create a "cloverleaf" approach to the bridge. Such a design would allow residents from Planterra Ridge subdivision to travel under Hwy. 54, access the bridge, cross the railroad tracks and then head south under another tunnel to reach The Avenue at Peachtree City retail center, which is currently under construction. The "cloverleaf" design is so named because it will use loops to bring the path from the lower level of the tunnel up to the bridge, which will be much higher in elevation. "It's a rather innovative solution," Rast said. Cousins Properties, the developer of The Avenue project, has also agreed to connect the center to the cart path also, Rast said. The DOT may also help fund the project to tunnel under the highway, Rast said. The city had originally requested $300,000 in DOT funds for the bridge, but the number was cut because there were so many other projects that were funded, Rast said. The city already has $250,000 in impact fees designated for the bridge, he added.
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