By Helen Borland / Staff

A Million here and a million there, and all of a sudden you’ve got enough money to fix a road.

Or build a gateway.

At the March 15 Roswell Mayor and City Council Meeting, Steven D. Acenbrak, Roswell Director of Transportation, asked for and received approval for the Scoping Phase for a Historic Gateway project along State Route 9-Atlanta Street in the amount of $1.9 million.

IT’S ABOUT TIME

Acenbrak began his presentation by asking the City Council to take the first step in eliminating a safety issue that has been plaguing the city for the last forty years; the reversible lanes on State Route 9. An analysis was done by the Roswell Department of Transportation (DOT) of State Route 9 from State Route 120 to the Chattahoochee River. They are also planning to make an intersection improvement along Atlanta Street at Azelea-Riverside Drive as well as a new bridge over Vickery Creek.

City staff drew up plans for a solution, but the next step is to hire a consultant and begin the formal process. The city needs the consultant to help estimate the magnitude of the project. The process would include concept design, alternatives analysis required by the National Environmental Policy Act, a public involvement period and a field plan review.

TIP-TOP FOR ARC

In order to move forward with the project, Roswell must be in the regional Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP), a requirement of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC).

The ARC recently approved a new concept called a Scoping Phase. Acenbrak asked the Council for permission to enter into the Scoping Phase which would allow the Roswell DOT to begin the work of the preliminary design and environmental document without being fully funded for the entire document. This will get Roswell into the regional TIP and allow the city to apply for federal funding. Roswell is required to be in TIP in order to apply for federal funds.

Acenbrak urged the council to act quickly. He advised them that there are several “lines” for federal funding, “and if we don’t get in line now, and get into the TIP now, it may be three to four years before that cycle will repeat itself and give us another opportunity for us to get in there.”

As the next step, the Roswell DOT will reprogram some existing federal FY 2010 funds. According to Acenbrak, they don’t need any new funds for FY 2011. He also said he would formally notify the Georgia DOT to pursue the Scoping Phase and begin the procurement of the consultant.

Acenbrak said he would return to the council to ask for approval of the plans that the Roswell DOT and consultant create by later part of the summer.

Councilman Rich Dippolito, who approved the motion, said, “If [State Route 9] is really the gateway to our city, it’s really important that this street is efficient and also it’s a nice entrance into the city. I think this project has the potential to increase safety, to improve transportation and to promote redevelopment.”

Councilwoman Betty Price asked about a time line and if utilities would be buried. Acenbrak said buried utilities were certainly something that would be included in the alternatives analysis. As far as a time line is concerned, going by the Grimes Bridge project, Acenbrak predicted that the Highway 9 project would take a minimum of two to three years, “so we have a long way to go.”

The motion passed unanimously.