Tyrone Town Council members earlier this month promised a counter proposal to Georgia Dept. of Transportation (DOT) for the closing of CSX Railroad’s crossing at Valleywood Road and Senoia Road and the extension of Park Drive to East Crestwood. That counter proposal came Thursday, with the council voting to fall back on the original 2007 proposal that would have the town spend considerably less money on the project.

The town’s estimated cost of for the road closure and the new extension carries an estimated price tag of $600,000, an amount all on the council found untenable, especially in the current economic climate. Town attorney Dennis Davenport said the framework of the current DOT proposal had changed from what it had been when the town agreed to it in 2007, having gravitated to one where the town’s financial responsibility had increased.

The counterproposal would have the town responsible for approximately $225,000 of project work, representing a significant savings over the current DOT proposal.

Questioned on whether it would be better to go the route of providing a counterproposal or simply forego any potential resolution to the issue, Davenport recommended that the counterproposal be forwarded to DOT.  

“If we say ‘no’ to the project you could have to pay the same dollars since the town agreed to the project in 2007. But what was in the 2007 (project) is not reflected in the current DOT proposal,” Davenport said. “So (by offering a counter proposal) you’re still showing a willingness. If you outright reject it you could have some liability.”

The council minutes later voted unanimously to submit the counterproposal.

The issue of closing the Valleywood crossing came in 2007 and was initiated by the town after a double fatality at that location in 2001. The town in 2007 signed a Memorandum of Understanding with CSX and DOT to close the crossing and construct a new signalized crossing at West Crestwood to facilitate a higher degree of safety.