Madison County consultant recommends roundabout at Camden Crossing for Stribling Road project; supplemental agreement pending

Madison County heard an update on the Stribling Road project that runs from Highway 463 to Dewees Road, where consultant Shannon Wells with Garber said preliminary design is near complete and a supplemental agreement to design a roundabout at the Camden Crossing/Lake Caroline entrance is on the board agenda for approval.

Wells told the board, “We have submitted the wetland report and permit application to the corps engineers.” She said the firm submitted that application about a month ago and was awaiting comments or approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Wells said the project is using a nationwide permit, which she said typically has a faster turnaround than other Corps permit types because the project’s wetland impacts are limited.

The consultant said the roadway model and storm drainage design are complete and that right-of-way drawings are about 70% complete — to a level sufficient to purchase right of way and relocate utilities. Wells said a traffic analysis completed since the July update shows capacity problems in 20 years if no improvements are made at Camden Crossing, and the team’s deeper analysis found “a roundabout … will perform better than a signal.”

Wells said the team submitted an encroachment permit request to Delta Utilities for work near a 12-inch steel gas pipeline that the project will affect, and that staff would continue coordinating with utility owners, including AT&T, as preliminary design nears completion. She said, pending approval of the supplemental agreement covering right-of-way and survey work, the county will begin title work and field work for maps and deeds where possible.

A county board member, Trey, asked about the project schedule and whether a federal government shutdown might delay the Corps’ review. Trey asked, “And what's the estimated construction completion date?” Wells responded that the team has not fully accounted for right-of-way and utility relocation unknowns and is still showing a July 2027 date for beginning construction from the current schedule; she cautioned that the timeline could change as unknowns are resolved. On the shutdown question, Wells said she did not expect it to affect the Corps’ response materially and reiterated the project is on a nationwide permit track.

Wells also reported recent public outreach: the project team met with Parkfield neighborhood representatives earlier to discuss concerns about the neighborhood entrance location and said staff plan further coordination.

On the project schedule shown to the board, Wells said she extended the environmental phase by about three months to allow time for Corps review and extended preliminary plans by two months to accommodate the additional design work for the Camden Crossing roundabout. She said the revised schedule remains roughly two months shorter than an earlier baseline shown in green on the presentation.

The board’s agenda includes a supplemental agreement for design of the roundabout and associated right-of-way work; Wells said that agreement would allow the county to move into title work and additional fieldwork. No board action on that item was recorded in the transcript segment provided.