Milestone Monday SR 17 Beam Setting

The first set of beams for the new Highway 17 bridge over Eastanollee Creek are in place after being set on Monday.

Georgia Department of Transportation Spokesperson Teri Pope said crews completed all of the work that was planned for Monday without any major problems.

“We set all six beams that we had planned to set,” said Pope. “It went well. The beams did arrive later than expected because they got caught in Atlanta traffic, but they did get there shortly after lunch and we were able to set all six beams as planned.”

The pre-stressed concrete bridge beams are 127 feet long and six feet tall.

Pope said each beam was custom designed for one place in this bridge, like a puzzle piece that will only fit in one place.

She said at some point, more beams will have to be set as the bridge construction continues.

The construction of this new bridge over Eastanollee Creek is part of the larger project to make Highway 17 a four-lane highway from Memorial Drive in Toccoa to the Stephens-Franklin County line.

Work started last Fall and Pope said that the DOT hopes crews will make significant progress through the construction season this Spring and Summer.

 
 

 

“We are hoping you are going to see a lot more progress a lot more rapidly on the 17 widening project,” said Pope. “We want to remind you that it is a work zone and all fines are doubled in work zones. Please remember to slow down and obey all of those traffic rules as you drive through the work zone.”

Construction of the new, four-lane Highway 17 is scheduled to be complete by May 31, 2016.

DOT Officials Brief Local Officials On Highway 17

A top Department of Transportation official tells officials that the Highway 17 project in Stephens County continues to move forward.

DOT Director of Planning Todd Long and 10th District DOT Board Representative Don Grantham spoke to officials from Stephens and Franklin counties Wednesday at the Currahee Campus of North Georgia Technical College.

The construction of a four-lane Highway 17 was at the top of the agenda.

Long said that he has placed the first phase of Highway 17 construction in Stephens County, which goes from the Stephens/Franklin County line north to Scott Road across from Eastanollee Elementary School, in the proposed State Transportation Improvement Program for Fiscal Year 2013.

“The southernmost piece, which is about 6.5 miles, we are hoping to have that under construction sometime in Fiscal Year 2013 for us, which could be as early as next summer,” said Long.

Long said that must still be approved by the DOT Board and the Governor before that can take effect. Also, all of the rights-of-way would have to be bought for the first phase before construction could begin.

The first phase of construction would cost about $60 million, according to Long.

As for the second phase, a $20 to $30 million project that would build a four-lane Highway 17 from Scott Road to the Toccoa By-pass, Long said that he does not have a date for that yet.

“Because funding has to be balanced across the state, I do not have funding for it now, but I am trying to get it,” said Long. “This could be a good project for the regional transportation sales tax, Phase Two that is, but we will have to see what happens with that.”

Constructing a four-lane Highway 17 in Stephens County is part of a larger to make Highway 17 four lanes from Toccoa all the way south to the Augusta area.

Long said the DOT knows it is important, but adds that it is a big project.

“It is a long stretch from Lavonia to Washington and it is a big ticket to get that 17 done,” said Long. “I know it is a high priority for Elbert, Hart, Franklin, and Wilkes counties, but we are taking one bite at a time. We are starting at the north end, then going back to the south end at Wilkes County and hopefully meet in the middle at some point.”

New District DOT Board Member Don Grantham said he also knows how important the project is.

Grantham said he is a supporter of Highway 17.

“Highway 17 is one of the most important corridors that I know of,” said Grantham. “This is the direct shot to Savannah and the rest of Georgia that we need and it is a shot of economic development that you need in this area.”

Grantham said Highway 17 throughout the region is a project he checks on regularly with DOT staff.
-WNEG

Toccoa group lobbies in D.C

Local leaders say they are hopeful about receiving support for two major initiatives to help spur economic growth in the community.

Toccoa Mayor Bob Troup, Stephens County Commission chairman Dean Scarborough, Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce chairman Lee Hicks, development authority chairman Cam Parker and development authority executive director Tim Martin recently returned from a series of meetings with Georgia’s Congressional delegation in Washington, D.C.

While in the nation’s capitol, the local contingent sought support for the widening of Highway 17 to I-85 and the Toccoa-Stephens County Infrastructure Improvement Plan, which would provide sewer access to unserved areas and create growth opportunities to help us achieve economic viability.

The improvement plan has been previously reviewed and authorized, but not yet appropriated.

"Our trip to Washington, D.C. proved that two things are evident in the way our government works,” Scarborough said.

“The first is that we have representation, but if we don’t let our representatives know what our needs and objectives are, then our issues will not stand out,” he said.

“The second thing I came away with is that it is much more effective for our leaders in Washington to see a face instead of just a voice or a name when we make contact with them,” Scarborough said.

“I thought this was a very productive trip and well worth the time and effort. The meetings with our senators and Congressman Deal and Congressman Broun went well,” Hicks said.

“It was good for us to be focused on our core issues of the sewer project, the widening of Highway 17, and the water level in Lake Hartwell,” Hicks said.

“I was impressed with our representatives because they seemed to be up to speed on these issues and were ready and willing to discuss them. We received some encouraging comments,” he said.

“Our trip was both rewarding and discouraging,” Troup said.

“We learned that DOT is definitely going to complete the acquisition of rights of way for both the first section and the second section of Highway 17,” he said.

“On the first seven miles, 80 percent of the property needed has already been purchased. That’s the good news. The bad news is that our sewer expansion project will take longer than we had anticipated,” Troup said.

“This trip gave us the opportunity to tell our story and to provide compelling reasons as to why we are good partners,” Parker said.

“We have a 100-year track record of industrial and business success. We have workers who are among the most productive in the world and we have a united community that supports our economic development efforts - we have put our money where our mouths are,” Parker said.

“Our legislators need to understand that given the chance, our community and its citizens will produce good returns on their investment. This visit was designed to help them help us, and I believe we accomplished that goal,” he said.

Pictured: Cam Parker, Bob Troup, Dean Scarborough, Senator Johnny Isakson, Lee Hicks, Tim Martin.

Toccoa-Stephens County leadership team meets new GDOT Commissioner

Above: Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Vance Smith and Toccoa Mayor Ron Seib

In a meeting with the new GDOT Commissioner Vance Smith, new Planning Director Todd Long, and Board Chairman Bill Kuhlke, a delegation from Toccoa-Stephens County, joined by Senator Jim Butterworth and Representative Michael Harden, learned that the acquisition of the rights-of-way for the widening of GA-17 from Scott Road south to the county line is progressing well past the 50% mark. Read the full article here...


See what the participants had to say about the meeting:

Cam Parker, Stephens County Development Authority: “It was a very productive meeting, and my resulting feeling is that it’s as important to the Department of Transportation as it is to us to make the state’s investment a payoff, and the way to accomplish that is to get the road built. GDOT will invest a lot in rights-of-way acquisition, and it doesn’t make too much sense to have that sit on the shelf for too long.”

Don Foster, Mayor of Martin: “The meeting went very well with the new Commissioner and the other representatives. I think Stephens County was well received, and we know that they are continually working on the Highway 17 four lane acquisitions.”

Billy Morse, Toccoa City Commission: “I felt the meeting was very productive, and it was nice to meet the new Commissioner Vance Smith. It appears that he’ll work very closely with our community to accomplish our transportation goals, the most important of which is to widen Highway 17 to the Franklin County line.”

Senator Jim Butterworth: "It speaks well of Stephens County Leadership, past and present, that this project continues to move forward during this time of limited transportation funding. Today we received assurance that this project is, and will remain, on the short list of projects that GDOT is committed to completing. Because of the positive economic impact this project will bring to Stephens County and Northeast Georgia, I am committed to seeing this project to completion."