The Georgia Department of Transportation and the City of Norcross are moving forward with the $15 million Norcross Beaver Ruin Greenway project and are nearing approval of construction and site inspection contracts in September.
At the Norcross City Council’s policy work session on Aug. 24, elected officials got a first look at a more than $11 million construction contract with Astra Group, the preferred low bidder.
The city’s contract match for construction and utility relocation, set to be voted on Sept. 8, is just under $3 million, down more than half a million since last summer.
Norcross joins path-building spree
The Norcross Greenway project will require more than a year of construction, which is set to begin before the end of the year. It is a 3-mile shared-use path beginning just southeast of Buford Highway on South Cemetery Street, running south along Beaver Ruin Creek next to Mitchell Road, and connecting to Pinnacle Way in southeast Norcross.
Many Norcross residents are familiar with the greenway project, which has been in the works since before the COVID-19 pandemic. With soaring prices, project costs are up, but the city’s use of state and regional dollars keeps its contribution below $4 million.
Because it’s a federally funded project through GDOT and the ARC, the city only needs to contribute 20% to project costs, which have increased by more than 33% since preliminary engineering began in 2019.
Public Works Director Len Housley said the federal funding means that the city has to “go in lockstep” with GDOT, which ensures compliance with regulations and concurs with contract awards.
“The construction cost did go up, but the right-of-way acquisition … actually went down more than what the construction went up,” Housley said. “So, no more required city match higher than what you have previously approved.”
Last summer, council members allocated an additional $1.47 million in Gwinnett County SPLOST funds to the multi-use path project, bringing the city’s total contribution to about $3.7 million.
Project details and timing
Housley said overall costs are slightly down, and the city can count on the approval of an additional $1.8 million in federal funds.
“We have more than enough money now to get started,” Housley said. “We’re working on getting all of these reimbursements back … It’s best to get construction started now, and that’s a GDOT recommendation, because if not, we would have to wait until January to award a construction contract.”
The project is set to be officially added to the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Transportation Improvement Plan for Livable Centers Initiative projects later this year.
With the construction around the corner, the city is preparing another path/trail project to connect to the greenway, bordering neighborhoods, and Jimmy Carter Boulevard in southwest Norcross.
The planned section of Gwinnett County’s Piedmont Pathway is a 2-mile linear park connecting Mitchell and Norcross Tucker roads via trails and paths along Beaver Ruin Creek to the Georgia Power utility corridor.
The Piedmont Pathway would connect southeast and southwest Norcross neighborhoods via parks and paths along a different section of Beaver Ruin Creek. The city has completed the necessary studies for it to become available for federally funded engineering contracts, with a similar 80-20 split.
