Nearly a decade after voters said yes to Atlanta’s safe streets initiative, proposed improvements to Fulton County’s Fairburn Road met another delay following concerns over the project’s steep rise in price.
Atlanta City Council sent a $33.2 million contract for the Fairburn Road complete streets project back to the transportation committee after estimates last year pegged the project at about $17 million. Council wants to understand why the costs rose so dramatically.
The project will include resurfacing, shared-use bicycle lanes, curbs, and sidewalks, signal and intersection upgrades, landscaping and drainage improvements on Fairburn Road from the city limits to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
Several council members expressed concerns over the procurement process and funding sources during last week’s Utilities Committee meeting. Only one contractor bid on the project.
Although the project’s scope has not changed, ATLDOT Deputy Commissioner Greg Moore said two line items, grading and traffic control, drove most of the price increase. The city could not negotiate until the committee’s vote ended a blackout period with the contractor.
“The intent here is to try and get the contractor to the table, and be able to talk about these prices,” Moore said during last week’s committee meeting.
Almost ten years after voters approved the Renew Atlanta bond in 2015, many similar projects have struggled to get off the ground. The city’s safe streets site lists a total of 18 complete streets projects in varying stages. One of these, the $21.5 million Howell Mill project, began construction December 2023 with an expected completion date by late 2026.
Other areas have yet to see progress. Despite its complete street designation, south Atlanta’s Campbellton Road has not been repaved in over 30 years, according to councilmembers.
Rebecca Serna, executive director of PropelATL, said the city should prioritize lingering complete streets projects to improve trust with residents and taxpayers.
Fairburn Street falls within District 10, which reported 25.3% of its population living below poverty in 2022, higher than the Atlanta poverty rate of 17.7%. The street intersects MLK Jr Drive where a two-way protected bike lane between Capitol Ave. and Forsyth St. has garnered national recognition since its completion last fall.
Still, Serna said the new price tag raises some questions.
“From a connectivity standpoint, it’s huge,” Serna said. “And then from an equity standpoint, you know, this is in a formerly red lined neighborhood, there’s a higher percentage of people who walk and ride transit. It is really important from that standpoint, but let’s make sure that we’re using those taxpayer dollars wisely in making that equitable investment.”
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