Paulding County seeks $97,542 supplemental for Ridge Road preliminary engineering; commissioner questions repeated traffic studies

Paulding County staff asked the Board to authorize the chairman to enter a supplemental agreement with Southeastern Engineering for $97,541.98 to complete preliminary engineering for the Ridge Road widening project from State Route 92 to Laird (transcribed also as "Leer") Road. Funding was identified as SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax).

Staff described Ridge Road as a two‑lane arterial connecting State Route 92 and State Route 61 and said traffic volumes near Laird/Leer Road and SR 92 range from about 6,400 to 9,200 vehicles per day in the project area, which is located in Post 3. Staff said proximity to commercial development, including the Greystone Power headquarters and newly developed parcels on the southwest corner of SR 92 and Ridge Road, plus completion of SR 92 widening, prompted revising the preliminary engineering to minimize right‑of‑way impacts to an existing convenience store with gas pumps.

The project history staff provided to the board included an initial contract with Southeastern Engineering for $98,500.99 (contract date cited by staff), a $17,500 supplemental approved on Nov. 11, 2020 for additional traffic analysis, and a $64,658.75 supplemental approved on Sept. 27, 2022. Staff said the total engineering‑phase budget for the project is now $278,201.72 and that the corridor length for this segment is roughly 0.55 miles. Staff estimated preliminary engineering plans could be finished next year.

"We do update traffic as, you know, as these projects go along... we obviously wanna make sure that the design that we put in will last for 20 years," Paulding County staff member George Jones said when explaining why additional engineering work was required after nearby construction and signal activation.

A commissioner raised cost concerns: "I'm just concerned at how much we're spending on engineering as it seems almost like some of this is redundant. Like, I mean, we did a traffic study 2 years ago or 3 years ago, and now I gotta do another one?" That commissioner asked whether earlier work covered the current needs; staff said updates were needed because roadway conditions and adjacent development changed and noted that any costs from potential takings would fall to the county, not the developer.

The meeting record documents staff recommendation for a $97,541.98 supplemental and the discussion; the transcript does not record a formal motion or final vote on the supplemental during the work session.

Next steps: if authorized in a future action, the supplemental would fund updated traffic, roadway and environmental screenings, roadway and right‑of‑way plans and any related services needed to finalize preliminary engineering.