Albany bridge, underpass projects near completion

ALBANY — If, as expected, the Albany City Commission votes tonight to approve just short of $100,000 in SPLOST V funding for lead-based paint removal and repainting of the East Broad Avenue Underpass, the project will take a big step toward a completion date that will coincide — or beat — the state’s planned reopening of the Broad Avenue bridge downtown.

City Engineering Director Bruce Maples said Monday the state is sticking to its planned reopening date “at the end of June” for the bridge that was closed in February of 2009 when inspectors found it to be structurally unsound. If the bridge work is indeed finished on schedule, the city’s work on the underpass that Albany City Commissioner Bobby Coleman and Dougherty County Commissioner Clinton Johnson declared an “eyesore” while pushing to have the area refurbished should be completed in plenty of time to be part of a planned grand reopening.

“The underpass project is coming along really well,” Maples said. “We wanted to move things along quicker, but we had to go through a process (that included getting permission from the Georgia-Florida Railroad) before we could get started. Most of the landscaping is done, and we’ve installed the conduit for the lighting.

“The state has told us they expect to be finished with the bridge project by the end of June, so this whole process should tie together nicely if everything goes as planned. The city is not actively involved in the bridge project, but they have coordinated with us on the style of lights to use, the bannister and the facade of the piers.”

Coleman and Johnson have actively pushed for renovation of the Broad Avenue Underpass, declaring that the city had ignored sections of downtown east of the Flint River in its efforts to revitalize the inner city. Both said Monday they’re pleased to see the project moving forward.

“I think there is still some discussion about the color scheme of the mural that will be part of the underpass project, but the way things are moving certainly meets my expectations,” Coleman, the city’s Ward II representative, said. “In all honesty, though, anything is better than what we had.

“What I’m most pleased about is the way the entire City Commission came together to move this project forward. That and the fact that the county has worked with us to make it happen.”

Johnson, who represents the county’s District 3, said the County Commission is prepared, as promised, to pitch in funding to help complete the underpass project.

“It feels good to see these positive changes taking place,” Johnson said. “The whole point of pushing this project was to get the city and the citizens in that neighborhood to recommit to redevelopment in that area. I’ve seen a lot of movement in that direction, people working to clean up the region and people talking about new development.

“I think (working with Coleman and other city officials) shows what we can do when we combine our efforts. My next goal is to start looking at infrastructure improvements along (State) Highway 300 to push for development there. I hope the city and county can work with the Southwest Georgia Regional Commission, Worth County, Lee County and other agencies to make this a regional project.”