Roswell neighbors describe the now $13.8 million Oxbo Road project as a mess and an eyesore, and say the city needs to listen more to residents.
“I was at the original planning and design meeting eight years ago,” said Janet Russell, a resident of the north Fulton city for 48 years. “It was going to be a simple fix. It started growing and now we have two giant craters in the road.”
Oxbo Road is located less than a mile from Roswell Square. The city is realigning Oxbo and nearby side streets and intends to build a safer intersection with S. Atlanta Street. But, major roadwork on the closed off road has paused and Mayor Lori Henry has launched an investigation into mismanagement of the overbudget, delayed project.
Jarrard & Davis law firm will circle back to at least 2017 when City Council approved the temporary purchase of a hardware store property needed for the road’s reconstruction. Due to construction delays, the city defaulted on that purchase agreement and been forced to pay more for permanent ownership of the 0.36-acre property.
Residents and officials agree that steep, curved parts of Oxbo Road needed to be fixed. But the road closure has inconvenienced motorists who use the corridor connecting Atlanta Street and Grimes Bridge Road. Most roadwork stopped a few months ago for the relocation of utility poles by Georgia Power, Transportation Director Muhammad Rauf said, and ongoing negotiations for a right-of-way property acquisition. The project is now slated to be completed in 18 to 24 months.
In a phone call with the AJC, Russell referred to Oxbo Road as “a monstrosity of a project.”
“That was my way of getting to Grimes Bridge Road,” Russell said of the road that’s been closed for a year. “I have to drive by there every day to go to the grocery store. I feel like I live in a Third World country.”
Sally McKenzie, a leader of the group Citizens for Responsible Development in Roswell, wants the city to create a citizen advisory transportation committee.
“There needs to be … another pair of eyes for projects that start before people come on Council and continue after you all leave,” McKenzie told City Council during public comment at a Feb. 8 meeting. “There needs to be another presence keeping an eye on the timeline and the process.”
She first asked Roswell officials to consider a citizen advisory transportation committee in an email last summer after researching groups in cities with similar populations. However, they never responded, McKenzie told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The project that was to cost the city nearly $9 million is now costing at least $13.8 million.
In 2017, the city paid $3 million to the former owners of Roswell Hardware Company for their property. On Feb. 8, City Council approved an additional $2.5 million in a settlement to Jason, Alfred and Benita White, owners of the family business.
In the original agreement, the property would be returned to the owners in ready-to-build condition by October 2020. City Attorney David Davidson told officials that Roswell was at risk of a lawsuit and mounting financial losses if the settlement was not approved.
The attorney for the White family, Dan Rolader, declined comment to the AJC citing an nondisclosure agreement in the settlement.
Council members expressed frustration over the settlement before the vote was approved. Councilman Marcelo Zapata voted against paying off the property owners.
“Something doesn’t make sense to me,” Zapata told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “There has to be a place of accountability and responsibility from staff.”
Zapata said that he always supported the road project but had concerns about the city’s process of getting it done. The councilman said he questions whether city staff thoroughly researched financials and sales of the hardware store business before arriving at a purchase price.
The Roswell Department of Transportation is taking the brunt of criticism from residents and officials for delays in the road project.
Rauf told the AJC that he supports the city investigation. In 2017, he was deputy transportation director under Steve Acenbrak, the former head of the department.
“We have done everything in our control and power to push the project forward,” Rauf said. “City Council wants it to move forward. There is nothing — based on the facts that we knew at the time — that we would’ve done differently. We’re making decisions in the best interest of the city. That’s how we have handled this project.”
McKenzie told the AJC that the Roswell Department of Transportation needs help.
“I firmly believe (Roswell DOT are) good traffic engineers but I don’t believe they’re experts in other things,” McKenzie said. “They certainly don’t represent the view of the citizens.”
In a Monday critique of the city project on Facebook, McKenzie said, “Prior Council likely didn’t understand what this project was going to look like — just how massive it’s going to be. They know now. And now, $5.5 million later, the city owns the intersection property.”
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