Newton Citizen

Photo by Michelle Hill

Improvements to Airport Road and Ga. Highway 142 have been completed well ahead of the start of school.

It took a county public works crew a week to finish temporary improvements to the roadway. Transportation Striping Services of Conyers handled the striping. All that is left to do is a bit of landscaping, said county engineer Tom Garrett.

The goal was to get the work done by the opening of Flint Hill Elementary School on Aug. 4. As it turns out, it was completed even before teachers report this Friday.

"It went about as good as it possibly could have. The weather was good, everything got done on time, everybody showed up on time. Everything fell into place," Garrett said.

Total cost for materials was just under $18,000, less than the $25,000 in SPLOST funds allocated by the BOC, Garrett said.

The skew of the intersection was improved, aprons were widened to allow easier turns for buses and a right turn lane for drivers turning south from Airport Road onto Ga. 142 was installed.

Improvements to the road will be made in four phases. The second phase is expected to begin later in the year and will include a full widening and realignment of the Airport Road/Ga. 142 intersection. That will be completed by early 2012. The third phase will be the widening and rehabilitation of Airport Road, which will require the road to be closed, to begin during summer break 2012. The final phase will be improvements and addition of turn lanes to Airport Road and Ga. Highway 81, to be completed in 2014 or 2015.