Follow Me Trail plagued with another delay on bridge spanning Victory Drive

If you thought the Follow Me Trail over Victory Drive would be completed early this summer, a city official said the project has hit another setback.

It’s been almost six months since the project was first delayed by the discovery of new AT&T cable lines in December. Rick Jones, director of the Planning Department for the Consolidated Government, said the latest snag stems from supports used for the bridge that will span the east and west bound lanes of traffic.

“They had to re-order another one,” Jones said of the support for the project. “My understanding is that we thought they would be done, too, for the most part.”

The $2 million bridge project is a key piece of the trail that runs from Cusseta Road south to Eagle Trace Apartments on Torch Hill Road. The bridge will allow walkers, runners or bicycle riders to safely cross Victory Drive without moving across the busy section of roadway.

Work on the retaining wall is complete on the north side of the road but there is only a mound of dirt on the south side. The contractor for the project is Southeastern Site Development Inc. of Newnan , Ga.

“The last thing I heard is the contractor will be re-mobilizing to construct the retaining wall on the south side of the wall in the next couple of weeks,” Jones said. “Once that wall is constructed, they will install the bridge itself and set it in place. They should be complete with the whole thing probably by September.”

That will put the project close to six months past the time work was expected on the trail. “They just ran into more problems out there than they thought they were going to run into,” the director said.

It all started with the newly found utilities then moved to the issue with the support for the retaining wall. “Now, they are reworking the retaining wall,” he said. “It’s just one of those kind of things, something pops up and keeps them from completing the job.”

Work should move along after the retaining walls are constructed. The bridge is constructed off site but will require a crew setting it in place. “It’s just a mater of them coming and setting it in there,” he said. “They can’t set it there until it gets the retaining wall up.”

The construction area was idle again on Friday after heavy rain left the area soggy last week. “Rain has caught them now,” he said. “It’s just one thing after another.”

A bright sport for users is the rest of the trail is open. “You just can’t get safely across at Victory Drive,” Jones said. “We are trying to be safe to get across there.”

Jones is hopeful the work will be completed by September and the entire trail is open.

The Follow Me Trail has been hit with so many setbacks, officials might want to reconsider a different name for the path crossing Victory Drive. How about the “Wait On Me Trail.”

If you have seen something that needs attention, give me a call.

This story was originally published May 27, 2018 at 10:15 AM with the headline "Follow Me Trail plagued with another delay on bridge spanning Victory Drive."