Albany sewer system work on Jefferson Street will mean inconvenience for motorists

ALBANY — The city of Albany’s ongoing sewer rehabilitation has a second deadline to meet with the need to complete work on North Jefferson Street ahead of a scheduled resurfacing by the Georgia Department of Transportation. The work will mean some detours and traffic delays for drivers.

The city has a June 30, 2025, deadline to complete 85% separation of stormwater and sewage in the city, the time its current federal permit expires, or face significant daily fines.

The state initially was scheduled to start resurfacing Jefferson Street, which is part of a state highway, in the first quarter of this year, Assistant City Manager Bruce Maples said.

“They were going to put it out for bids, and by February or March they were going to be resurfacing it,” he said.

The DOT responded in the affirmative to a request to delay the project by a year, which will give the city time to complete the portions of the project that will require cutting the roadway for work on the Third Avenue and Booker basins. Without the rescheduling, the city could have been on the hook to redo the resurfacing work if its work was completed after the resurfacing project.

The Albany City Commission discussed some $20 million in funding for the overall combined sewer overflow project that is expected to cost around $130 million and is part of a $300 million overall sewer system overhaul.

The commission is set to vote next week on approving the expenditures, which include $4 million for the Booker basin and $3 million for the Third Avenue basin, as well as a $6.9 million pipe rehabilitation project.

The work on Jefferson Street will mean some inconvenience for motorists while the work is underway, but planning will be done to minimize that inconvenience.

The scheduling issues will be compounded by ongoing Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital projects, including the Living and Learning Center for training nurses and phlebotomists that is under construction at the intersection of Third Street and Jefferson Street and the new emergency room on Fourth Avenue.

The city also is going to do everything possible to expedite the work that will impact Jefferson Street, Maples said. The construction time for the project is expected to be 360 days.

During the construction, detours will be provided to help motorists travel on the heavily used Jefferson Street and busy hospital area.

“We’re trying to beat the Georgia DOT to get the work done so they’ll be able to come in and pave,” City Commissioner Chad Warbington said. “There’s going to be projects on our streets that’s going to take months. It’s about to start getting real.”

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