Sandy Springs Intersection Projects Gain Traction

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — The city of Sandy Springs is making progress on two intersection projects that are designed to improve traffic flow and relieve congestion for residents.

Council members at their Nov. 20 meeting approved the purchase of right-of-way and construction easement at 230 Fieldsborn Court for the Spalding/Trowbridge/Dalrymple intersection improvement project. The price tag for this final piece of right-of-way needed for the project was $70,000.

The project, which is funded with Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax revenue, is expected to improve current delays and congestion at the intersection. Plans call for upgrading the traffic signal, and installing much-needed left-turn and right-turn lanes.

The original TSPLOST budget for the intersection improvement project is $1.35 million, which includes $1 million in construction, $490,000 in right-of-way acquisition and $138,000 in design services.

Joe Gillis, the city's TSPLOST project manager, told the City Council at its Dec. 4 meeting that they are working with Georgia Power to begin the first phase of utility relocation. Construction on the project is expected to begin sometime in 2019.

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Sandy Springs is also making progress on plans to improve another key intersection on the south side of the city. The design for the Mt. Paran Road-Powers Ferry Road improvement project includes a roundabout, crosswalks and ADA landings.

This intersection, Gillis added, has been the site of 33 crashes since 2011, and its level of service is consistently failing during morning and evening commuting hours. A roundabout, he notes, will fix the alignment at the intersection and eliminate the existing four-way stop. A majority of attendees at a public input meeting for the project indicated they would prefer a roundabout over a traffic signal, according to Gillis's presentation to Council members. The roundabout, Gillis said, won't have any vegetation at the center, so larger trucks in the area can "traverse" the middle if needed.

The $1.8 million project is currently in the right-of-way surveying phase, and negotiations will soon begin on those properties. Broken down, construction is estimated to be a little more than $1.2 million while design is expected to come in at around $300,000. Construction is not expected to begin until 2020, according to city documents.

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