Smoother driving in city’s future
With some grant funding from the state, the City of Ellijay will soon be resurfacing several city roads.
“I go around and try to pick out the ones that needed resurfacing the worst, and those were the ones that got top of the list this year,” Ellijay Mayor Al Hoyle said.
The streets being resurfaced include McCutcheon Street, Bob Henson Street, Sailors Drive, Depot Street and Gudger Street.
The Ellijay City Council voted to award a $177,375 contract to Colditz Trucking, the lowest bidder on the project. A Georgia Local Maintenance Improvement Grant and Local Road Administration assistance fund will give Ellijay $114,468.93 toward road repair.
The city will also use $62,906.07 from Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) money.
Because SPLOST money comes from sales tax, it can raise tax dollars from visitors who live outside the county.
Hoyle said he expects the work on the project to begin in July or August. Finishing all the streets will likely take about two weeks.
“None of the streets are that long,” he said.
When streets close down, the Ellijay Police Department will announce the closure on its website or Facebook page, Hoyle said.
“They’re always good, and they put plenty of signage up,” he said.
Most of the streets will require an inch and a half of asphalt to resurface. But Depot Street and Sailors Drive will need two inches, due to increased damage from heavy truck use.
“It’s a pretty straightforward process,” Hoyle said. It’s something we do every year.