Project ready for consideration by DOT board

In the span of several weeks, the Georgia Department of Transportation has signed off on several documents that will ultimately lead to the completion of the cart path bridge over the CSX railroad tracks on Ga. Highway 54 West.

Peachtree City Planner David Rast informed the City Council Friday night that several approvals have been garnered from the DOT, leaving one final approval being necessary before the project can go out to bid.

That final hurdle however is a decent-sized one: approval for funding.

That approval must come from the DOT board, which must review the construction plans for the bridge before releasing funds. Under this grant program the city will pay $50,000 toward the construction cost, with the DOT picking up the remainder of the tab.

The bridge itself has been in place since the highway widening project was completed in August 2006. The project has remained incomplete since then, as there are no paths built to link the bridge and tunnel.

Rast characterized the recent progress on the project as “tremendous” and said staff would put together information to present to the city’s representative on the DOT board to see if it can be moved forward.

The bridge is part of a system that includes tunnels that DOT also constructed during the highway widening. Once complete, the system will allow path users to travel across the railroad tracks between The Avenue, McIntosh Village and Marketplace shopping centers.

The bridge has gained the moniker of “bridge to nowhere” among city officials who are frustrated with the lack of progress on the project due to delays.

Part of the problem was that the bridge construction and the path approaches are considered two separate projects by the DOT, city officials have said previously. The path connection project grant comes from the Liveable Centers Initiative which encourages communities to design and build neighborhoods where residents can live, work and play.

At one point the pending path approach project was on hold for months as the city awaited a DOT permit certifying the path wouldn’t adversely affect air quality. The only vehicles allowed on the path system are electric powered and have no emissions. The path system’s other patrons — bikers, skaters, joggers and walkers — in some cases improve air quality by ditching their gas-powered autos for short trips that can be accomplished on the paths.