Floyd County Eyes Second Project Using Tire-Based Mix Paving

The first road project in Floyd County to use smart mix paving, which has a percentage of ground-up tires as part of the aggregate, has been completed, and now the county is looking to do a second project.

According to Public Works Director Michael Skeen, the resurfacing of six-tenths of a mile on Terhune Road was completed in July, and all went smoothly.

“We are looking to apply again for another grant opportunity with Georgia Environmental Protection Division to do a bigger, longer road this year,” Skeen said. “It’s a new mix; it’s a new product, so we didn’t want to put down something that hadn’t been proven yet. The Georgia Department of Transportation has used it some, and we’ve used it. It operates and runs well. So, we’re hoping to continue that, not just here throughout the county, but with GDOT throughout the state.”

According to Skeen, they do have a road in mind for the next project.

“We’re looking at Rush Chapel Road, which is up in the Shannon community,” he said. “It’s about 2.7 miles, so bigger than the one we did in the southeast.”

Skeen stressed that just because they are applying for a grant doesn’t mean they will get approved.

The aggregate mix can potentially dispose of 500 or 600 tires per mile. There are also some improvements to the asphalt, such as skid resistance and, hopefully, longevity with the flexibility of the pavement. It can also be used on trails. The mix used for Terhune Road came from Liberty Tire, which gets tires from the scrap tire collection events held in Floyd County.

Brushy Branch road to close

Skeen also updated members of the Transportation Policy Committee on Wednesday on repairs that are expected to get underway on Black’s Bluff Road at Brushy Branch next month.

“One of our wing walls on that culvert has failed,” he said. “We met with some engineers and contractors and determined that the best way to fix that would be to install some sheet piles along that edge of the roads to stabilize it.”

Georgia Power recently had to reposition some of their utility poles so the contractor could get in with their boom and do the work safely.

“That has now been completed, and we are probably looking at the first week in October for the contractor to get in place,” Skeen added. “We will have to close the road probably for about two weeks. You’ll see detours come out. Melson Road will be the primary detour, but we will get that posted in advance.”

GDOT projects underway

Work on the Second Avenue widening and reconstruction continues with utility relocation in progress. The prime contractor is installing some new storm drain pipe along Second Avenue.

As part of the bridge replacement on Martha Berry Highway at Big Dry Creek near Berry College, traffic was shifted to the southbound lanes in June. The northbound lanes of the existing bridge have been removed and the contractor is preparing to begin construction of the substructure.

The bridge replacement at Dykes Creek on Kingston Highway is ongoing with the subcontractor constructing a temporary detour bridge for a traffic shift before the demolition of the existing bridge. That traffic shift is expected at the end of this month or early in October.

Resurfacing work on Ga. 1 Loop between Martha Berry Boulevard and U.S. 411 began on Aug. 11. The project, excluding striping, is expected to be completed by the end of this month.

On Ga. 140 between Shannon and Adairsville, the contractor has shifted traffic to newly constructed westbound lanes at the second wall across from Old Highway 140, removing and reconstructing existing lanes in the area.