Columbus city staff answer questions about Buena Vista Road interchange, trash
Columbus Consolidated Government staff discussed the completion timeline and trash associated with the Buena Vista Road diverging diamond interchange project, led by the Georgia Department of Transportation, during Tuesday’s Columbus Council work session.
The Buena Vista Road project is about 77% complete, according to a presentation by Vance Beck, Columbus director of engineering, during the meeting. This project was reported as being about 75% completed during an infrastructure update presented to the council last October.
It has a budget of about $52.7 million as of Tuesday, according to information provided to the Ledger-Enquirer by deputy city manager Pam Hodge, with about $46 million already committed. According to the CCG data, the Buena Vista Road project is now estimated to be completed this winter.
Construction on the project began in 2020.
“They’re still experiencing some utility conflicts,” Beck told the council. “That’s what has taken that one so long. Anytime you widen an existing facility that’s already got all the underground infrastructure from utilities to drainage, those projects tend to go very slow.”
Crews have had to extend every drainage pipe and move all the pipes to install new inlets as they widened to the road, Beck explained. This has taken the bulk of the time in working to complete this project, he said.
“You’ve got fiber, water and gas,” Beck said. “You’ve got all the overhead utilities. That was a large project.”
The city’s other diverging diamond project, at Bradley Park, has shifted to its final configuration and did not require moving curbs because the necessary width was already there, Beck said.
“It was basically a striping-type change and removal of ramps,” he said. “No new bridges were built over the interstate.”
In contrast, the Buena Vista Road diverging diamond required two bridges to be demolished and rebuilt overnight.
“Those two projects, when they’re finished, will look very similar,” Beck said. “But they are night and day on how they had to be built.”
Trash at construction site
Councilor Toyia Tucker of District 4 relayed concerns she has received from Columbus residents about how the projects have been managed in terms of cleanliness.
“Buena Vista Road sometimes is filthy,” Tucker said. “I’m just going to tell you. It’s filthy. You have individuals busting tires. It’s not as smooth … or taken care of like other areas.”
Tucker said she is frequently on that side of town and noticed the difference between how the construction area of the Buena Vista Road project appeared compared to the construction at Bradley Park.
“It looks, sadly, like exactly what the citizens say,” she said. “That the contractors don’t care about this side as much as they care about Bradley Park.”
The construction site has been cleaned up at least once, Tucker said, after a complaint was made with Beck.
“But we’re constantly having to send those types of complaints,” she said.
The tires on Tucker’s vehicle had been blown because of bolts left in the road, she said, and she has heard complaints from others who have had a similar experience.
Tucker asked about the process for residents to receive compensation for this type of property damage from GDOT projects.
“Anyone who believes their vehicle sustained damage due to construction conditions within the site’s work zone should go to the project’s engineers field office and file a claim with the contractors,” GDOT spokesperson Penny Brooks told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email. “The contractors are responsible for validating and resolving open claims before they close the project.”
The project’s engineers field office is located at 3665 Buena Vista Road, next to Econo Carpet Sales, Inc., Brooks said.
Parts of the Bradley Park project could be cleaned up as well, Tucker said.
Beck said alerts he receives about both projects are forwarded to GDOT. The same contractor works on both projects, Hodge said, and is committed to having a discussion about the issues with GDOT.
The traffic pattern at Buena Vista Road is expected to shift by this summer, Beck said, with the final completion coming this winter.
This story was originally published April 2, 2026 at 6:00 AM.
