Spiderweb project that will build a new bridge on Buena Vista Road is moving forward

A major construction project that includes a large bridge that will funnel traffic on Buena Vista Road over working railroad tracks should pick up pace in the coming months, city officials say.

“It’s on track,” Rick Jones, Columbus director of planning, said of the status of the project known as the “Spiderweb” due to the high number of streets that intersect with Buena Vista Road within a short distance of travel. That includes St. Marys Road.

“We’re anticipating, hopefully, going out to bid for the project by the end of the year or the first part of 2019 at the latest,” he said. “When we get that project started, it’s probably going to run us about two years to get it done. So it’s under way and moving along pretty good right now.”

Aside from the major decision more than two years ago to drop the idea of tunneling under the train tracks that are used a half-dozen times a day by Norfolk Southern Railway — opting instead for the cheaper bridge — Jones said the city has been acquiring right-of-way to make room for the construction project that is capped at an expenditure of $40 million.

“We’ve got to stay within that budget. That’s pretty much all the money we have. That’s just something we have to look at and deal with,” he said of the project, which is being funded by the 2012 Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax approved by voters in the River Valley region that includes Muscogee County.

Thus far in the right-of-way process, Jones said acquisitions have included a cluster of older apartments on Ilges Road that have been demolished, as well as an old warehouse that sits on property that will be needed to build a temporary access road to keep traffic moving on Buena Vista Road during the project, which has to be completed no later than 2022. A barber shop and convenience store are being acquired as well.

Elements of the project include making improvements along Ilges and Morris roads, with Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard going underneath the bridge and linking with Ilges. There also will be improvements made to a bridge that goes over Bull Creek near the intersection where St. Marys Road reaches Buena Vista Road.

“That bridge was scheduled some time out for a complete reworking of it. We just thought now is the best time to do that,” the planning director said.

Jones said once the project is put out for bidding among general contractors no later than early 2019, construction will hopefully begin by late spring or early summer. At that time, the city will begin letting the public know more about the schedule and alternate routes that motorists should consider during the massive construction project.

A major factor in deciding that the Buena Vista Road project should take place was the fact that motorists and emergency vehicles such as ambulances can be held up as trains pass regularly through the area, three during the day and three in the evening. More than 27,000 vehicles pass through the corridor each day.

“It’s going to have its challenges. There’s no doubt about that,” Jones said. “And folks are going to be inconvenienced for at least two years, unfortunately. But when it’s all said and done, we should have a much easier way of moving traffic through there and we won’t have to concern ourselves with the railroad blocking that roadway, and vice versa, impacting the railroad’s operations.”

A breakdown on the cost of the project is $2.5 million for planning and engineering, more than $8.6 million for right-of-way acquisition, just over $25 million for construction and about $3.6 million for utility improvements.

This isn’t the only roadwork destined for Buena Vista Road. A $47.6 million “Diverging Diamond Interchange” is planned farther east, at the road’s intersection with Interstate 185.

Such interchanges, which are less than a decade old, are considered safer and keep traffic moving more smoothly while reducing congestion. The new interchange is in the design phase now, Jones said.

“In a traditional diamond interchange, traffic signals require three phases to manage the traffic movements, including a separate left-turn phase,” according to a Washington State Department of Transportation video, where the new interchanges are planned. “By contrast, in the DDI thru-traffic and left turns happen at the same time, eliminating the need for a separate left-turn phase. This creates shorter wait times and allows the interchange to handle higher-traffic volumes more efficiently.”

The cost breakdown for the interchange project is $28.7 million for right-of-way acquisition and just under $19 million for construction. Planning and engineering costs were removed from the project, which has been under consideration by the state and city since 2001, according to a project fact sheet.

This story was originally published May 22, 2018 at 2:41 PM with the headline "Spiderweb project that will build a new bridge on Buena Vista Road is moving forward."