County Addresses North Druid Hills Road Construction

A number of people have emailed me over the last few days about this construction on North Druid Hills Road. I got a response today from DeKalb County spokesman Burke Brennan, and, before I write a more detailed story, I figured I would pass his email along to you guys who want to know more about it.

Here is Brennan's email to me:

The project will widen North Druid Hills Road from Briarcliff Road to Woodcliff Drive in order to extend the left-turn lane to Briarcliff Road southbound. North Druid Hills Road will also be widened from Briarcliff Road to the west, toward Interstate 85, in order to provide a third westbound receiving lane for the double left turn lane from Briarcliff Road northbound. Briarcliff Road will also be widened to provide an additional southbound through lane from North Druid Hills Rd to Sheridan Drive.

The project is expected to ease traffic congestion and reduce delays for drivers who use this intersection every day.  In addition, new ADA compliant sidewalks, upgraded traffic signals, and crosswalks will enhance the safety of pedestrians who pass through the area.

Funding for the project comes from revenue from the 2005 bond referendum for infrastructure projects. Construction is estimated to take approximately 15 months at a cost of approximately $2.6 million. The contractor for the project is Desmear Systems, Inc.

Now, does that mean motorists on that road can expect the same kind of delays for the next 15 months? I'm not sure. Either way, I doubt it's going to be pretty considering how awfully congested that road is most of the time anyway. (It's a primary reason I grocery shop at 1 in the morning.) It's going to be split into phases, and Brennan is currently looking into that for me now. Like I said, I'll have a more detailed story on it for you guys once I get all the information. This is for those of you wondering what the heck is going on out there.

UPDATE: Brennan just emailed me back regarding the phases.

Here's his response:

It will be up to the contractor to decide how to phase his work.  However, he is not going to be working in the road all of the time, so his impacts to traffic are going to be variable during the life of the project.