Here is an Old Alabama Rd Update. The Old Alabama Rd Construction was suspended last month, and the residents are waiting for the contractor CW Matthews to be back on site.
GDOT needed to do a change order to eliminate the left turn lane into the Atlanta Athletic Club parcel. It defeated the purpose of the construction project as it limits the 2 stacking left turn lanes onto SR141 north.
A resolution was signed late Monday. It is unknown at this point how much are the costs incurred for the change order. Drawings and Studies are needed prior to construction resuming.
Old Alabama Rd Update
The constant theme in Johns Creek is poor planning and foresight.
Atlanta Regional Commission reported, GDOT received federal funds $3,254,071 in FY 2015 for this project.
The originally cost in 2007, $2,368,833.
Current cost, $9,499,697.
According to GDOT, the project is scheduled to be completed in May of '17, however, our contractor has committed to be complete by the end of this calendar year. That is of course, without any further unexpected issues.
-
Read Prior Posts here:
Old Alabama Rd – Redo’s and Modifications
The Old Alabama Rd Construction Plans are here…
Old Alabama Rd Construction to Torment Residents for Next 13 months
-
Obisimal failure on the city's part to let this dysfunctional project happen and continue.
OAR and 141 are one of the vital arterial connection points in Johns Creek. It is one of many important lifelines that make up the "health" of our city. Although this is a state project, the city has a lot of influence in the design and oversight of the project.
The cut-through problem in Thornhill and DoubleGate are a symptom of this mismanaged project. All that is being gained from this is an additional lane coming from 141 towards Buice Rd. The other side of OAR is basically the same as it was before the project started. There should have been another dedicated lane on OAR to turn right/south on 141. This would have made the construction disruption worthwhile. $9.5M and 2.5 years and this is all we get? We will never have another opportunity to create that additional lane for as cheap as we can now. Instead, sidewalks, gutters and storm water drains have been removed. New ones will be reinstalled. And then we will still have the same cut-through pressure and general bottleneck.
The city needs laser-focus on our roadways. Has the city been distracted with other things that are more "cosmopolitan"? It might be mundane, but traffic is the greatest negative affecting quality of life in JC. We should not award CW Matthews another project in JC until the city negotiates terms that protect us against their poor performance. Then we need to ride hard to ensure that everything is being done as it should.
CW Matthews is doing the Old AL project? They're the ones that just got the Abbots Br Rd project. Can't wait.
Yes the City Council recently approved CW Matthews to widen part of Abbotts Bridge rd.
C W Matthews bids on work based on plans provided by the municipality.
They are not responsible for the dysfunction of the Johns Creek planners--and aren't included in the hidden agenda.
There must be a hidden agenda or this job could not have been this screwed up, if the objective was simply to improve traffic.
IF the AAC property is ever developed- that would be the appropriate time to deal with ingress, egress & would be paid for by the developer.
Wasting additional lane space for anything but traffic movement is nothing short of incompetence & malfeasance of office to serve the taxpayers!
Mr. Seneker,
The turn lane for AAC parcel was discussed in the preplanning meeting, 9 years ago that 2 City staff attended, and was included in the plans up until now.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone at city hall.
Nine years ago Obama was running for President, Dean Gardens
was not being developed into a new neighborhood, Thornhill didn't have speed breakers & stop signs to mitigate the cut thru traffic, we
probably will need traffic lights soon since Old Alabama Rd has turned into such a debacle.
Because something is "discussed" doesn't mean it was a good idea
Surprise or not it doesn't fit today's needs to move traffic.
Agree.
It would have been prudent for City Staff to thoroughly review the construction plans, prior to starting the project to ensure it met today's and tomorrow's needs to move traffic.
Usually incumbent council members have an edge to be reelected. Let's be sure to express our displeasure in their ineptitude by voting AGAINST all incumbents.
Just ?Bodker and ?Davenport need to be REPLACED... in 2018(Nov 2017 Election)
It should be obvious to all of us that we have a major failure in how we implement access to and from commercial properties.
We must begin to think outside the box, and not be hellbent on making the commercial property as easily accessible as possible to the detriment of all the other drivers who are passing by the location and do not want to stop.
How often have you been on a major road and one car pulls up to leave a shopping center and all four lanes are halted to let the one care out?
And then the light goes through the motions and all the vehicles sit for 45 seconds are so with NO vehicles going through the intersection?
We all love businesses in our area. But we should not be asked to make a time sacrifice as we pass each and every shopping center and strip mall.
The OAR project has been a gross failure. It highlights what the COJC and the GDOT thought were important. Spending Fed dollars instead of our local dollars (and getting it done) and planning ahead for the commercial development that the COJC cannot wait to see happen there.
How much time have you personally had to sacrifice there in the last week alone? I lost more than 30 minutes over three days. I feel really bad for my neighbors that have had to deal with that crap EVERY day of the week. Took me 20 minutes to go the last 1.5 miles home last Friday at 2:00 pm.
It wasn't even rush hour.
Is this really the best we can do?
Where was our Public Works Director Tom Black and our $5 million+ per year Public Works contractor Ch2m hill during the planning, design, and construction management phases of this project? This disaster was avoidable and we obviously have a bunch of amateurs running our Public Works Department.
CW Mathews doesn't care because they are a hard dollar low bid contractor. All they have to do is be the low bidder on a project and they're right back in the game. Then they create a way to justify a change order to arrive at the true cost of a construction project.
Amateurs ?running?
Not even ?walking, crawling? would be more apt.
Black was taking victory laps for his flashing yellow left turn light, which for anyone old enough to know better, is the same as a "Left Turn Must Yield" sign, which we actually still have at many intersections.
If the people have not figured out that your local DOT and your statewide GDOT are all about how much money they can get and not actually resolving the issues, then you are NOT paying attention.
Vote NO on TSPLOST(unless you want more traffic circles, red lights and more gridlock).
Vote for a Mayoral Candidate who says traffic is his # 1 issue and who you can find in the traffic center during morning and evening rush hours.
Vote for a Mayoral Candidate who understands the difference between a truly intelligent traffic light(which adjusts to volumes on its own) and one that an operator manages from home maybe in his underwear, as the example Bodker cited. If the light needs human intelligence, then the light itself is not intelligent is it?
If traffic was the most important priority, wouldn't you and I recognize that by the actions this city has taken?
If it was, we'd not approve any more high density developments until we had a better traffic situation. Period.
Yet look at the calendar. More and more high density to fill every nook and cranny.
Our traffic center would actually be monitored in the morning and evening rush hours every day.
Ask your council member when was the last time they sat in the Traffic Center during a full rush hour.
They are wasting your time and money on nonsense while you fight to get home every evening.
Remember Niblick Road? It took residents to point out to Public Works "Trim back the brush".
Why was it up to the residents to point out the obvious? Why are residents pointing out the obvious on other intersections and the suggestions are ignored?
Drive down 141 South of Old Alabama. How many road signs are obscured by limbs and brush do you see?
And yet not one City Employee has noticed that and took the initiative to get something done?
Am I alone here? Or do you see the same things?
You are not alone on any and all of this. I assure you!!
Yes, we all see the same things you do. I guess the City doesn't care or maybe they are waiting for US to stop the car, take out our pruning shears, and do the job!!!!!!!!
Actually, I have done that before. Left the limbs where they fell. There are sidewalks were the limbs are so low you have to duck when walking.
They say they want people walking. But if they do, you should not have to duck with the low limbs.
I think that if you see something, that it should be reported to the City....After all, I am sure that they are concerned about the residents' safety!
I commute from Roswell to Norcross through this intersection twice daily most days. The performance on this project is nothing but an insult to the thousands of taxpayers having to put up with it: always a traffic back-up, sometimes as long as 1.5 miles (by actual measure) taking 15 minutes to get through. This has been going on for over a year, while many good weather days show no one on the job site (we have just finished nearly a month without significant rainfall during which almost no work was done). The project shows the typical "standing around the shovel" workforce so typical of DOT and C W Matthews contracts anywhere you want to look in the metro area. To blame bad weather and unexpected design changes is simply BS for a project that has been in the planning and execution stages literally for years. For the cost to escalate from $2 million originally (low bid gets the job!) to $4 million now (for needed changes?) just takes the cake. City of Johns Creek administration: can you not do any better than this in dealing with your contractor?
Anyone who drove 141 South this morning into Peachtree Corners and notice that there was not the standard backup across the river?
Isn't it amazing what properly timed lights can do?
I did notice that as well. Forsyth County is out of school this week, so maybe some parents took time off and went on vacation and less commuters from Forsyth County were on 141 as well. I sure hope this continues into next week !
I'm completely done with most of JC's gutless politicians and city hall's lazy and incompetent bureaucrats and their clumsy overpriced consultants.
I find it interesting that the city of Alpharetta will get the bridge re-built over 400 / Encore Parkway in less time than Johns Creek is getting a lane added to Old Alabama Rd. A much more complex project done in less time. Every time I am over in that area unless there is bad weather, work is being done on the project. I avoid the 141 / OAR intersection as much as possible, but unfortunately, I live off of Old Alabama Rd so avoiding it completely has not been possible. But to the extent possible, I am not doing any shopping or errands that require me to travel in that direction. Johns Creek City Council, this means I am not supporting our businesses, but ones in Alpharetta. Cannot wait for this work to be done!