At 3:40 p.m. Friday Cobb DOT said Paper Mill Road between Woodlawn Drive and the Sope Creek Bridge will be closed to through traffic “for the next few hours” because of downed power lines.
East Cobb Traffic & Roads
Davidson Road closed near Lower Roswell due to damaged electric pole; reported power outages
Cobb Police said around 1 p.m. that a portion of Davidson Road near Lower Roswell Road is closed, and could be for a while, after a semi truck knocked out a power pole.
The police alert said Georgia Power crews were on the scene to make repairs to the pole and electrical lines, which are located near the Goodwill store.
That’s on Davidson Road, right behind Parkaire Landing Shopping Center, and a number of businesses there and in the surrounding area are without power for now.
Police said the closure could last as long as eight hours, and traffic is being diverted through parking lots.
UPDATED, 3:33 P.M.: Cobb DOT says Davidson Road will be closed through the Tuesday afternoon rush hour. They’ve got the area of the road around the truck blocked off by cones and barricades.
This story will be updated.
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Columns Drive reopens after flooding; sunny weather this weekend
The rain projected for Thursday and Friday didn’t amount to much at all, at least in Cobb County, where the only road still shut down from last week’s storms has now reopened.
Around 6 p.m. Cobb government announced that Columns Drive, located off Johnson Ferry Road and along the Chattahoochee River, has been reopened to traffic.
For the last week, it was shut down between Atlanta Country Club Drive and Willow Knoll Drive after heavy rains left the area heavily saturated.
As the Cobb DOT photos show, the standing water remained due largely to clogged drains.
Cobb government said rangers from the nearby Chattahoochee National Recreation Area, furloughed due to the partial federal government shutdown, helped clear up a clogged drain at the end of Columns Drive.
Crews also had to clear away a beaver-caused clog, and that helped drain away a good bit of water.
Cobb had been under a flash flood watch through Friday, but very little rain occurred after the morning.
Sunshine is in the forecast for the weekend, with partly cloudy skies and highs in the high 50s on Saturday.
Sunday will be sunny with highs in the mid 60s.
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Land acquisition for new Cobb Fire Station 12 site on commissioners’ agenda
The purchase of three parcels of land on Canton Road for a new Cobb Fire Station 12 is on the Cobb Board of Commissioners agenda next Tuesday.
The current station, located at 810 Brackett Road in the Shaw Park area, is 55 years old. It’s one of four stations in the Northeast Cobb area but the only one serving the Canton Road corridor.
On the agenda is a request to purchase property located at 3852, 3592, and 3686 Canton Road owned by Chastain, LLC, and to be assembled with a parcel at 3587 Centerview Drive, which also is on the agenda.
According to the agenda item, the total purchase price for the three Canton Road properties is $1.1 million. They are located on the east side of Canton Road, between Kensington Drive and Chastain Corners Road.
The purchase price for the Centerview Drive property, currently owned by the Cochran Family Trust, is $263,000.
The cost to construct a new facility is estimated to be $4.1 million.
Also on Tuesday’s meeting agenda is a request from Cobb DOT to condemn four parcels of land for the planned Windy Hill-Terrell Mill Connector. DOT says that while negotiations continue with property owners, condemnation is needed for right of way acquisition if talks fall through.
The four parcels are 1.4 acres at 1557 Terrell Mill Road (Forest Ridge at Terrell Mill Apartments), and 1,206 square feet each at three townhomes located at 1631 Turnberry Lane, 1617 Turnberry Lane and 1613 Turnberry Lane.
The land is located near the northern portion of the road project, close to its intersection with Terrell Mill Road.
It would be the second such condemnation of property in the path of the Connector, an 0.8-mile stretch. Commissioners voted in November to condemn portions of apartment complexes near Windy Hill Road.
Tuesday’s meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the second floor board room at the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta. The full meeting agenda can be found here.
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Columns Drive remains closed as flash flood watch continues through Friday
Another week, and another flash flood watch has been issued for Cobb, metro Atlanta and much of north Georgia. Last week’s rains closed Columns Drive in East Cobb, and it’s expected to remain closed through at least Friday.
That’s the word coming from Cobb DOT, which is still clearing out flooded areas along Columns Drive between Atlanta Country Club Drive and Willow Knoll Drive.
A message sent out this morning by Cobb commissioner Bob Ott said that Cobb DOT is working with contractors to pump out remaining water on Columns Drive, which borders along the Chattahoochee River and is mostly residential. It provides access points for several apartment complexes as well as trails in the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.
“Please do not drive past the barricades, your interruption slows their effort in the area. And some drivers have caused private property damage by driving onto their neighbor’s yards,” Ott said.
Cobb will be under a flash flood watch starting at 7 p.m. Thursday through Friday evening. The National Weather Service is forecasting between 1-2 inches of rain, and possibly more in some areas. Those areas that were saturated with last week’s rains are more prone to flooding again.
The chance of rain Thursday is 70 percent, and 90 percent tonight and on Friday. The rain is supposed to taper off on Friday night and sunny skies will return on Saturday and through the weekend and into the first of next week.
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Traffic Update: Columns Drive closed temporarily due to flooding
Cobb County government issued a notice around 12:30 p.m. today that Columns Drive, which meets Johnson Ferry Road at the Chattahoochee River, has been closed due to flooding.
The specific area of Columns Drive that is closed is between Willow Knoll Drive and Atlanta Country Club Drive.
Cobb DOT also closed Woodland Brook in Vinings, where a woman in a van had to be rescued after being stranded in high water.
Cobb officials also said areas of the Chattahoochee near Roswell, including East Cobb boundaries, also are vulnerable to flooding. This morning motorists were advised not to travel along Willeo Road along the Chattahoochee, close to where it meets Timber Ridge Road in East Cobb.
A flood warning was issued for several stretches along the Chattahoochee in Cobb, including that stretch near Roswell.
After being in a flash flood watch area, Cobb is now under a flood warning, following storms Thursday night and Friday morning, that brought between 2-4 inches of rain to the area.
The warning is due to expire around 3:15 today, but the National Weather Service said flooding issues from the rains will linger through the rest of today. Here’s more from the NWS warning, which was issued around 1:30 p.m., and specifically about the flooding near Vinings:
- At 12PM Friday the stage was 18.5 feet and and rising.
- Flood stage is 14.0 feet.
- Significant flooding occurs in the woodlands and affects large portions of the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area along the river upstream and downstream from the gage on Cobb Parkway. The flood waters will be around 3 feet deep over portions of the access road to the recreation area. Portions of the parking lot will begin to flood.
- This crest compares to a previous crest of 17.9 feet on Oct 12 2009.
A flash flood watch continues for Cobb, metro Atlanta and much of north Georgia until 7 a.m. Saturday.
More thunderstorms are expected later this weekend and into New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
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Northwest Corridor Express Lanes holiday schedule announced
If you’re planning on using the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes over the next week or so, here is the holiday schedule Georgia DOT has put together:
- Dec. 24-25: Operate northbound
- Dec. 25, 11 p.m.: Reverse to southbound
- Dec. 26-28: Normal operations
- Dec. 28, 11 p.m.: Reverse to southbound
- Operate southbound until Dec. 31, 11:30 a.m.
- Dec. 28-31: Operate southbound at 11:30 a.m.
- Dec. 31: Normal operations
- Jan. 1: Operate northbound
- Jan. 1, 11 p.m.: reverse to southbound
- Jan. 2: Return to normal schedule
There also will be no lane closures for ongoing Georgia DOT construction projects during much of the holiday period.
There’s a no lane closure period going on now that began on Saturday, and that will continue through Wednesday.
Some construction work and lane closures will resume from Thursday through Saturday.
No closures will also be in effect starting at 6 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 31, and continuing through 5 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2.
For up-to-date information about travel conditions on Georgia’s interstates and state routes, call 511 or visit www.511ga.org before heading out on the roads.
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Cobb DOT District 2 work crew busy mowing, cleaning up roads
One of the additions to the county budget with this year’s tax increase was the hiring of dedicated road employees in each of the four commissioners districts. The Cobb DOT District 2 work crew has been fully staffed and already at work performing mowing and clean-up duties.
They were introduced by commissioner Bob Ott Monday at his town hall meeting at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center. They are: Skip Vaccaro, equipment operator; John Allen, crew worker; Andrew Eison, crew leader; Shamond Williams, crew worker; and Todriquez Huey, equipment operator.
They’ve already completed some big tasks, including collecting 32 bags of litter on Atlanta Road last week (Cobb DOT photo below).
When Ott showed that photo to the audience, there was a burst of applause. He and other commissioners commented during the summer budget hearings that citizens were complaining frequently about unmowed medians and rights-of-way.
Since the recession, the county has hired a contractor to do that work. But that was done only for six months, from the spring to the fall. The $1.4 million the county is spending for work crews in the FY 2019 budget is a bit more than the $1.1 million annually it paid the contractor, but now the work will be performed year-round.
Bill Shelton, the Cobb DOT road maintenance director, told the audience that Ott “has been a champion” of making a change to hire in-house crews, who started working two weeks ago with the new budget year kicking in.
“We can do it a lot better, and these guys are already proving it to you,” Shelton said, referring to the District 2 crew.
Said Ott: “I am very confident the decision to hire crews will result in saving tax dollars and most of all improve the aesthetics of all county right of ways.”
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Cobb weather and traffic post-Michael: Several downed trees, some flooding
Wednesday night’s heavy rains, the product of Hurricane Michael, produced around three inches across the county, according to an update sent out by Cobb government late this morning.
Cobb DOT crews were dealing with around a dozen downed trees, including one on Tondee Court in Northeast Cobb, and some flooding on roads that has been cleaned up.
There was a brief tornado warning in Cobb early Wednesday evening, mostly for the southern part of the county. Some estimates had around six inches of rain in the Powder Springs area.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for Powder Springs Creek, which was at 11 feet, what’s considered flood stage.
Cobb schools were in session as usual Thursday, after operations and transportation crews made a check of facilities and roads starting around 3 a.m. Schools were closing around the lunch hour and for the rest of the day for a previously scheduled early release for staff development.
Cobb DOT is urging motorists that if they approach a traffic signal that is not working, to treat the intersection as a four-way stop.
Georgia Power is saying that if you see a downed or low-hanging electric wire, don’t touch it. That includes cable TV lines. Instead call 1-888-891-0938 or dial 911 to report downed power lines.
Georgia Power is reporting only a small number of outages in metro Atlanta; most are in areas of south and central Georgia hit hard by hurricane-force winds as Michael moved up from the Florida Panhandle.
Cobb EMC was reporting only a small number of outages this morning.
A good bit of central and south Georgia was under a tropical storm warning and flash flood watch this morning as clean-up has gotten underway. Those warnings have been cancelled.
President Trump this morning declared a state of emergency for Georgia, meaning impacted areas could receive federal aid for clean-up. Gov. Deal declared a state of emergency for 108 counties before the storm hit.
The National Weather Service issued this information this morning:
Do not go sightseeing within impacted communities. Sightseers interfere with the emergency work of first responders.
When clearing out fallen trees, be careful with chainsaws and axes. Always wear protective gear and keep others at a safe distance. Leaning trees and those which have fallen on roofs or power lines can be especially dangerous. If you are not in good health or unsure about what you are doing, have someone with tree cutting experience do the job. Never cut trees without a partner.
The sun came out late this morning in Cobb, and some fall-like temperatures are expected for the rest of the week, with highs in the 70s.
Tonight’s lows could dip into the 40s.
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East Cobb traffic alert: Holt Road closure Thursday for Wheeler homecoming parade
If you use the top end of Holt Road in the late afternoons, Thursday is going to be a no-go for you, because of the Wheeler homecoming parade.
That’s because it will be closed, from the intersection of Robinson Road to the Wheeler High School area, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The Wheeler PTSA is sending out a message that if you’re going to be a parade-watcher, you should park in the Wheeler bus lanes.
The parade starts at 6 p.m.
After the parade, there will be food trucks, games and other activities across the street in the old East Cobb Middle School parking lot.
The Wildcats’ game on Friday with region rival Newnan, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. is special for more than just homecoming purposes.
Coach Mike Collins’ team is 5-0 on the season and is No. 9 this week in the GeorgiaSports Writers Association Class 7A state rankings.
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Sandy Plains Road closures continue this week
Continued from last week are road closures along Sandy Plains Road posted here previously, and announced by commissioner JoAnn Birrell’s office.
This week’s closures are in the northbound lanes of Sandy Plains, between Kinjac Drive and Ebenezer Road, from 9 a.m. To 2:30 p.m. weekdays through Friday.
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East Cobb traffic alert: Sandy Plains Road lane closures next week
Cobb DOT is reminding motorists about Sandy Plains Road lane closures that will be in effect next week:
Beginning Monday, Sept. 24, utility relocation work will reduce Sandy Plains Road to one lane for traffic traveling in both directions between Ebenezer Road and Kinjac Drive, north of Piedmont Road. The shift is expected to remain in place no later than Sunday, Sept. 30. However, completion of this work is dependent upon favorable weather conditions.
Signage and traffic control devices will be positioned to guide motorists. Drivers are advised to take Canton Road or Holly Springs Road and should reduce their speed and exercise caution in the area.
This utility work comes as part of a 2011 SPLOST road safety and operational improvements project for 8-mile-long Sandy Plains Road, where a raised median is present in all areas except between Kinjac Drive and Ebenezer Road. The project will add a median, as well as left and right turn lanes, to this road segment.
Read more about the Sandy Plains project here.
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Traffic alert: Part of Johnson Ferry Road closed Saturday for parade
Just a reminder that this Saturday is the EAST COBBER parade, which means that one of the busiest parts of Johnson Ferry Road will be closed for a few hours.
Johnson Ferry between Roswell Road and Lower Roswell Road will be closed to all traffic between 9:45 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
The parade route stretches southbound from Princeton Lakes Drive to the entrance to the Johnson Ferry Baptist Church ball fields parking lot (at Olde Towne Parkway).
The parade starts at 10 a.m., with the parade participants marching down the southbound lane.
The festival follows from around 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. in the ball fields parking lot.
Admission to both components of the event is free.
We’ll have more in a separate post about weekend events, but here’s a link to parade and festival activities.
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Northwest Corridor Express Lanes now open; free for 14 days with Peach Pass
Late this morning the Georgia Department of Transportation announced that the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes have opened.
As we noted earlier this week, through Monday morning the reversible toll lanes along I-75 and I-575 in Cobb and Cherokee will be open only in the southbound direction.
They’ll be made available for northbound traffic for the first time for the Monday afternoon rush hour. Here are the access points that will be available for East Cobb commuters:
- I-285 at Akers Mill Road
- I-75 at Terrell Mill Road
- I-75 at Roswell Road
- I-575 at Shallowford Road
Using any part of the 29.2-mile stretch of managed lanes is free until Sept. 22, but you have to have a Peach Pass to use them. Here’s how to sign up (the initial fee is $20) and get more information about the dynamic pricing system.
If you want to purchase a Peach Pass in person, they are being sold at the Georgia Department of Driver Services, 3690 Old Highway 41, in Kennesaw. The hours are Tuesday-Friday from 7:30 a.m to 6:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to noon.
The minimum charge to travel on the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes is 10 cents a mile from 5 a.m. to midnight. Overnight, from midnight to 5 a.m., the cost is a flat 50 cents per trip.
Georgia DOT estimates that more than 220,000 vehicles use I-75 and I-575 in Cobb and Cherokee every day.
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Northwest Corridor Lanes opening Saturday along I-75, I-575
At long last (and especially for those of you who have been checking here recently), thre is a date for the opening of the Northwest Corridor Lanes along I-75 and I-575:
It’s this coming Saturday, Sept. 8, and the first two weeks are free, but only for motorists who sign up for a Peach Pass (more info here, including a new pricing structure that just went into effect).
Here’s what we posted earlier this summer, when Georgia DOT’s Stephen Lively briefed members of the East Cobb Civic Association about the reversible toll lanes.
From mid-morning Saturday through the Monday morning rush hour, access to the managed lanes will be for southbound traffic only.
Around mid-afternoon Monday, the lanes will be switched to accept northbound traffic for the p.m. rush hour.
The minimum charge is 10 cents a mile for all the managed lanes in the state, including the Northwest Corridor Lanes, from 5 a.m. to midnight.
Overnight, from midnight to 5 a.m., the cost is a flat 50 cents per trip.
The amount of a per-trip fee will be determined according to “dynamic pricing,” which is based on demand. The cost is higher with heavier traffic and drops when traffic decreases.
To get an idea how this works, you can check the real-time toll rates for the existing express lanes on I-85 in Gwinnett and DeKalb and on I-75 in Henry County.
The Northwest Corridor Lanes will have several access points for East Cobb commuters:
- I-285 at Akers Mill Road
- I-75 at Terrell Mill Road
- I-75 at Roswell Road
- I-575 at Shallowford Road
Georgia DOT projected a late-summer opening, but it was delayed due to repairs to collapsing retaining walls that were detected along I-75 near Windy Hill Road.
Gov. Nathan Deal will take part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony next Thursday at 10 a.m. near SunTrust Park, in Braves Lot 29 at Circle 75 Parkway.
The Northwest Corridor Lanes, which cover nearly 30 miles, is the most expensive construction project in Georgia DOT history, at around $834 million.
It will eventually be eclipsed by the forthcoming I-285 Express Lanes, including a $4.2 billion price tag for a section stretching between I-85 and I-75 north.
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I-285 Express Lanes would include several Cobb County access points
The $834 million Northwest Corridor Express Lanes that are set to open soon (and with an access point on Roswell Road, near the Big Chicken, as seen above), are part of the initial phase of the colossal I-285 Express Lanes project to address congestion on Atlanta’s suburban northside.
The Georgia Department of Transportation has been holding information sessions with local government bodies about its Major Mobility Investment Program, a total of 11 projects that are expected to be completed over the next decade or so.
On Tuesday, Cobb commissioners were briefed at a work session about the I-285 Express Lanes, which would range between I-85 in Gwinnett County and I-20 west of Atlanta.
The toll road projects, dubbed the I-285 Top End Express Lanes (fact sheet) and the I-285 Westside Express Lanes (fact sheet), would be fully complete by 2028, connecting to I-75 and I-575 in Cobb and Cherokee and the Northwest Corridor managed lanes.
The Top End project will cost an estimated $4.2 billion, with expected completion by 2028. That corridor currently handles around 240,000 vehicle trips a day.
The Westside project is expected to cost around $655 million, and is slated to open to traffic by 2026. Unlike the Northwest Corridor, which will have reversible lanes, the Westside project will have an express lane in each direction, inside existing general purpose lanes.
Tim Matthews, the MMIP project manager for Georgia DOT, told commissioners that three Cobb County access points are being proposed for Westside project. Two are at Mt. Wilkinson Parkway and Cumberland Parkway.
Another would be at 285 and Cumberland Boulevard. That access point was chosen over Akers Mill Road, both for cost and traffic demand reasons.
Matthews said the Cumberland Boulevard access point would cost an estimated $15 million, compared to a $110 million price tag for Akers Mill. Planned development in the Akers Mill area also was a hindrance for access point consideration.
The Cumberland Boulevard access point also would serve traffic projected by the year 2040 to be around 25,000 vehicles per day, compared to around 17,000 at Akers Mill.
Although that may not seem like a lot, Matthews said “that’s a significant difference.”
He said the proposed locations are not final, but represent a “baseline access map” that could be altered, since the project will be taken to the public and also because of land acquisition issues that could come up.
No proposed access points for the Top End Express Lanes were presented at the commission work session.
The next steps for Georgia DOT with both projects are to address environmental issues, which are underway and will take around three years, and to have public comment periods in 2019 and 2020. Right-of-way acquisition is expected take place in 2021-22, with construction starting in 2023.
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Piney Grove Creek bridge at Casteel Road has reopened
Cobb DOT reports (along with snapping the above photo) that the Piney Grove Creek bridge has reopened at the intersection of Casteel Road, Bill Murdock Road and Oak Lane.
Originally slated to open by the start of the school year, the reopening was delayed for a couple of weeks.
The expanded span includes a wider passage and sidewalks, as well as metal and stone guardrails, the project also includes a reconfigured intersection.
Related stories
- Casteel Road bridge replacement project approved
- Northwest Corridor lanes slated for late summer opening
Got a news tip about East Cobb road improvements and traffic? Want to have a question answered about roadwork near you? Get in touch with us! Send your inquiries/tips/photos to: editor@eastcobbnews.com.
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Casteel Road closure for bridge replacement continues into August
A Casteel Road closure that’s been in place since the start of summer school vacation will be lasting into the start of a new school year.
Ongoing construction work to replace the aging Piney Grove Creek bridge means that Casteel Road will now be closed until Aug. 15.
Initially DOT had estimated a completion around July 31, since Cobb schools return on Aug. 1.
The $1.2 million project includes a wider passage on Casteel Road over the bridge, with shoulders, sidewalks and barriers on both sides, and a reconfiguration of its intersection with Bill Murdock Road and Oak Lane.
Through traffic on all three roads near the bridge site is being met with signs like the above, on Bill Murdock at Blakeford Club Drive.
A detour route prepared by Cobb DOT and mapped below continues to be in effect until the bridge work is done and the roads are reopened.
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East Cobb Traffic Alert: Cedar Forks Drive closed for emergency sewer repairs
Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell’s office has sent out word that Cedar Forks Drive, a neighborhood street in East Cobb located off Holly Springs Road, is closed until around 5 p.m. today for emergency sewer repairs.
That’s just north of the intersection of Holly Springs and Old Canton Road and is indicated by the blue box in the map above.
Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority crews have been on the scene since around 9 a.m.
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Windy Hill-Terrell Mill Connector funding approved by Atlanta Regional Commission
The Atlanta Regional Commission announced today that its board has approved $44 million in transportation funding for Cobb County, including the proposed Windy Hill-Terrell Mill connector.
The funding goes through 2023. The Windy Hill-Terrell Mill connector is a planned 0.8-mile, four-lane road with an eight-foot raised median designed to relieve traffic in a busy corridor near Interstate 75 (link to project fact sheet). The project also includes a multi-use trail connecting to the Bob Callan Trail System and the Chattahoochee River.
It’s also designed to feed into the new Northwest Corridor Express Lanes that open in August and that will include an entrance/exit point at I-75 and Terrell Mill Road.
Some living in multi-family buildings and condos have been forced from their homes to make way for the connector and have expressed their displeasure not only with that prospect, but also how it has been handled.
Related story
The projected costs for the connector are $38 million, with $22 million, mostly in Cobb SPLOST funds, for continuing right-of-way acquisitions and $15 million from state sources in 2020 for construction. That’s when construction is scheduled to begin, and is expected to conclude in early 2022.
Other Cobb projects on the ARC approval list include the South Barrett Parkway Reliever near Town Center, Phase I of the Mableton Parkway Trail and the creation of Sunday service and additional Saturday service for the CobbLINC bus system.
The Cobb projects approved today by the ARC were part of a $400 million transportation package in the metro Atlanta area to be spent over the next five years.
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