Construction for intersection changes Spalding Drive and Chamblee-Dunwoody Road are expected to start by November after the Dunwoody City Council approved a contract Oct. 12.
The $1.27 million contract is with Construction 57 and is funded mostly by previous years’ Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax funds, according to a city memo. Construction is expected to be completed sometime next year.
“The reason why this intersection was so important to us is because it was rated the most dangerous in the city in terms of accidents,” Councilmember Stacey Harris said in the Oct. 12 meeting.
Left-turn lanes will be added to Spalding Drive at the intersection, along with sidewalks on the east side of the road from the southern city limit to the Coronation Drive intersection. Chamblee-Dunwoody Road will be realigned to intersect at Spalding Drive at a wider angle to improve visibility.
Bike lanes will be put on both sides of Spalding Drive “within the limits of the project.” The contract also includes drainage improvements at the intersection.
Utility companies have already started relocating utilities at the intersection in late spring, according to the city memo. That work is expected to be finished in January 2021, but city Public Works Director Michael Smith said Construction 57 will go ahead and start on one segment of the project while the utility relocation gets completed.
The city received 13 bids for the project, and Construction 57, which is also working on adding sidewalks to Peeler Road, had the lowest bid.