End is near for streetscapes project on busy Wynnton Road, official says

Some Midtown residents are growing a bit impatient about the streetscapes project along Wynnton Road between Cedar Avenue and 13th Street in Columbus

The $1.3 million project has been going for a year now with Southeastern Site Development Inc. but it’s on time and scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, said Farhad AliFarhani, assistant director of engineering/traffic engineering manager for the Consolidated Government. “We are not aware of any delays in the project,” he said.

There may not be any setbacks for the work crews but the barricades, equipment and lane closures are getting to some residents who have to drive on the busy corridor to get around town.

The new facelift on the stretch of Wynnton Road includes new sidewalks, street pavement, concrete curb, decorative planners and landscaping. Although the street is a four-lane road with some turning lanes, it is one of the city’s busiest streets for traffic with 23,700 to 26,500 vehicles moving near the construction area each day.

AliFarhani said work crews are making progress. Like other projects underway across the city, the city engineer is used to getting calls about Veterans Parkway, Warm Springs and Talbotton Road. “We tell them when the project is awarded to the contractor, the contract has a number of days and there are some rainy days included,” he said.

The crews have fared well on the Midtown project even during a rainy year. Most companies can stay within the days bidded on the project unless something unforeseen develops.

When the high temperatures start to drop, residents may start to see signs of the project coming to an end. Landscaping is scheduled to start about November as one of the last phases of the project.

After all the landscaping is completed, AliFarhani said the road will have to be resurfaced from the work along the corridor but the Georgia Department of Transportation will control that phase of the work.

“We don’t have any control over that,” he said. “They will have to wait and see how they can schedule that. Other than that, we think everything will be on schedule and should be done close to the end of the year.”

If you’ve seen something that needs attention, give me a call at 706-571-8576.