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September 2, 2010
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Walnut Grove parkway nears completion
Published October 4, 2009
Progress continues to be made on the Walnut Grove Parkway as city officials indicated the project is nearing completion.
“I walked on asphalt on the parkway (Wednesday),” Mayor Don Cannon said.
The projected completion date for the $1.4 million roadway is the end of October. The project was originally expected to be finished already, but Cannon said while the project is within budget, there have been several delays.
“Initially, the rainy spring caused delays in the start of the project, then issues involving the Corps of Engineers caused yet another delay,” Cannon said. “Relocating the water lines took much longer to get done than expected. These factors, coupled with an encounter with rock and more rain, are the reasons for the changes to our timeline.
“That said, we are nearing completion. The vision we cast several years ago is coming into focus. We believe this will serve us well for decades to come.”
Ground was broken on the project in March, according to officials the largest single project in the city’s history. Funding for the project is coming from the city’s $2.6 million portion of the county’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax with the goal of alleviating traffic at the city’s epicenter — the intersection of highways 81 and 138.
The project originates from the city’s vision for a downtown re-development overlay district. The parkway will align with the outer border of the northeast quadrant of the new district.
In 2005, the city purchased a historic home along Highway 81, renovated it and made it the new city hall. The first conceptual drawing of the parkway was unveiled at the city’s bicentennial celebration in 2006. With a study conducted by the University of Georgia’s School of Environmental Design completed in the same year, the pieces of Walnut Grove’s future seemed to be coming together.
Another important piece of the puzzle is the city’s effort to bring sewage service to the area, a key component in luring additional business to the municipality. But movement on this project seems to have stalled — for the moment.
“Our efforts to bring sewer to Walnut Grove continue,” Cannon said. “The options we’ve considered are all driven by new development. Obviously, that is all but non-existent at this time. Nonetheless, we are having ongoing discussions to seek the alternative that suits our needs.
“These things, with the new Walnut Grove High School and potential for a new library, are initiatives we feel are worthwhile and will help drive the economic development efforts.”
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