Parsons Project Will Close Road for 4 Months

The City of Johns Creek recently opted to replace the Parsons Road bridge, which will shut the route down for about four months in 2015. The Georgia Department of Transportation will replace the bridge and foot the entire cost of the project; under this plan there will be no temporary bypass.

The GDOT plan estimates that total construction time will be 9 to 12 months, with the bridge being closed for four. The plan also calls for the construction to be scheduled so that most of the closure would be during the summer months in 2015.

If Johns Creek had opted to keep Parsons Road open for the entire duration of the construction phase, a temporary bridge would need to be installed, as well as traffic signage installed to allow one lane at a time to cross the bridge. The city of Johns Creek would have to foot the cost for this option, estimated at $400,000. This option would also increase the construction time to nearly two years.

The police and fire departments reviewed the detour plan and did not express any major concerns about rerouting emergency calls. Deron P. Wilson, deputy fire chief, performed several response time checks going to and from the Parsons Bridge Road area and determined that closing the bridge would have a minimal effect on response times for the fire department. While he did not have a general number of responses in the area, he felt that closing the bridge for six months would be a better option for the fire department. There would be greater delays in response times if the bridge remained opened as the fire trucks would a big problem navigating for one year as opposed to the bridge being closed for six months.

The city council members all agreed the project must move forward, opting for the four-month closure, at no cost to the city. So, it’s on to the next phase of the project, which is the environmental study.

Though there will be some inconveniences to residents once the project gets under way, it will be worth it in the long run, since aging infrastructure must be replaced before a failure occurs that could be catastrophic in nature.