Corps wants to meet with citizens before considering permit

Citizen concerns about a cart path bridge being built over Flat Creek in south Peachtree City have led the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to delay approval of a permit necessary to continue the project.

The bridge assembly is already in place but the city needs to build the path approaches to the bridge, which is located behind the Morallion Hills subdivision. The approaches weren’t built earlier because there was no funding available, and the city was forced to build the bridge first because at the time a grant for the structure was near expiring, said City Engineer David Borkowski.

The bridge, once completed, will link homes on the city’s south side with the city’s industrial park. The path will lead from Morallion Hills onto Gardner Park.

At a later date, the city plans to build a cart path tunnel that will connect from there so residents can take their golf carts back and forth to the city’s baseball-soccer complex on Ga. Highway 74 south.

Borkowski said the corps wants to have a joint meeting with the city and the neighbors in the area to address their concerns before proceeding with review of the application.

The current design includes ramping the approach paths with two drainpipes on each side to allow water to flow through. The paths were designed so they will actually flood in case of heavy rain, and the stormwater would not back up into the yards of adjacent homes.

The design was drawn so it would meet the conditions of the worst predicted 100-year flood from a storm, as per guidelines from the Federal Emergency Management Administration, Borkowski said.

Some residents in the area have been skeptical of the city’s claims about the design and they worry about the bridge approach structure creating a dam that would cause water to threaten their homes in the case of a severe storm.