WOODY MARSHALL/THE TELEGRAPH Macon, Georgia, 03/24/2014: One lane of Forest Hill Road was closed while trees were removed for the relocation of utility lines. Crews will be working to clear trees from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

WOODY MARSHALL wmarshall@macon.com

Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 22:22
Subject: Forest Hill Road - Prep work starts on widening - Telegraph -
video

Prep work starts on widening Forest Hill Road

State urges caution in high-traffic work zone

By JIM GAINES

jgaines@macon.comMarch 24, 2014

http://www.macon.com/2014/03/24/3009908/prep-work-starts-on-widening-forest.html

Work is finally underway to widen Forest Hill Road.

After long delays, mostly related to legal opposition, crews were busy on the roadside Monday, with one lane blocked on part of the stretch between Northside Drive and Wimbish Road. Orange barrels sat along the entire two-mile course of the planned work.

Crews began clearing trees Monday, said Kimberly Larson, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Transportation.

“Probably for about the next month, they will be clearing back the right-of-way so the utilities can get in there and start moving lines,” she said.

She urged drivers to be cautious, watching for flagmen and slowing down for workers and equipment.

But the road won’t be blocked all day every day, Larson said. Workers are avoiding the hours of heaviest traffic.

“They can only have lane closures out on that project from between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., and then again after 6 p.m.,” she said.

As the ground is cleared, utility companies will follow closely behind, Larson said. Some companies have already started work on easily accessible utilities, but some current above-ground utility lines will be buried, she said.

The project will widen Forest Hill Road from Wimbish Road to Northside Drive, adding a central turn lane and 5-foot sidewalks on both sides. The plan also includes the realigning of Old Lundy Road across from Lokchapee Drive, and a “four-legged intersection will be created with the realignment of Newport Road, Forest Lake Drive South, Normandy Road and Glenn Hill Court,” Larson said.

The original notice to proceed, issued in February 2013, called for work to be done by March 2017. But despite the legal hangup, the project’s completion is expected by July 31, 2016.

Contractor R.J. Haynie & Associates of Lake City got the contract in December 2012 with an $8.4 million bid. Construction signs went up more than a year ago, but spent most of that time draped in black plastic as a lawsuit opposing the project worked through the courts.

The lawsuit, filed by area resident Lindsay “Doc” Holliday, argued that the Georgia Department of Transportation’s design was more dangerous than one he preferred. He also said it would destroy the road’s tree canopy and pollute its streams. But Holliday lost his case and, short of money, didn’t appeal by a November 2013 deadline.

At that time, Haynie project manager Mark Spence said tree clearance might start in December. But that date passed as the state reviewed the delay’s financial impact on contractors.

That review apparently didn’t produce any major changes, Larson said.

“Their bid of $8.4 (million) was still good,” she said.

The Northside-to-Wimbish stretch isn’t the only part of Forest Hill Road slated for eventual widening. The half-mile section from Wimbish to its intersection with Vineville Avenue and Forsyth Road is to be expanded to four lanes. But that work, already planned to be a later phase, is on hold indefinitely.

At a Feb. 5 policy meeting of the Macon Area Transportation Study group, Jack Reed, GDOT district planning and programming engineer, said the project schedule for Forest Hill Road work from Forsyth to Wimbish has been “removed” from the immediate project list, with no current activity.

The project spreadsheet he presented now lists approved right-of-way funding for fiscal 2018, and construction funding for fiscal 2020.

To contact writer Jim Gaines, call 744-4489.

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/2014/03/24/3009908/prep-work-starts-on-widening-forest.html

http://www.macon.com/2014/03/26/3012517/editorial-a-road-project-decades.html

EDITORIAL: A road project decades in the making still leaves bad taste

March 26, 2014

It’s hard to believe. Work has finally started on Forest Hill Road. A project first envisioned in the early 1990s, funded by the Road Improvement vote in 1994, and a source of controversy ever since, is getting underway.

For all its beauty, Forest Hill Road has been a thorn in the side of local leadership. The project has watched four mayors and four county commission chairmen come and go. Mayor Robert Reichert is the last city official standing in his new capacity as head of the consolidated government.

The original plan was to widen Forest Hill to five lanes. Residents along the road revolted. The project was one of the main contributing factors in the formation of CAUTION Macon, a group of concerned citizens that have made fighting unnecessary roads a life’s passion. That it has taken so long to begin work on the road is a testament to their dedication and persistence.

Not many remember the project that Forest Hill Road was an integral part: The Northwest Parkway. It was a patch of roads -- Northside Drive, Forest Hill Road, Park Street and Log Cabin Drive, that would have given shoppers a more direct route to the Macon Mall. For a time, Moreland-Altobelli, the firm supervising the $300 million in road projects approved by the vote, shifted blame for the Forest Hill Road section to the state Department of Transportation, saying the smaller footprint wouldn’t meet state requirements that would attract $6.8 million in state funds. As usual, leaders opted for the money.

Through all of this, the traffic counts and particularly the traffic projected to travel Forest Hill Road has been the stuff of utter fantasy. The projections were delusional long before The Shoppes at River Crossing eliminated the need for the Northwest Parkway concept. In hindsight, the widening of Log Cabin Drive from Mercer University Drive to Eisenhower Parkway and Bloomfield Road from Eisenhower to Rocky Creek Road has been pretty much a waste. Though the widening did help attract the Presidential Parkway development and Sam’s Club at the intersection of Eisenhower Parkway and Log Cabin, there was no need to widen Bloomfield Road to Rocky Creek Road at the cost of millions of dollars in construction and right-of-way costs.

Now the design for Forest Hill Road will forever change the landscape of the area. Plans are to cul-de-sac The Prado and Overlook, forcing that traffic onto Ridge Avenue or the already crowded Vineville Avenue, that dangerous stretch of road with its suicide lane that none of the plans attempted to tackle.

While the project will bring millions of dollars to Macon-Bibb, the jury is no longer out. A project that could have fixed the issues everyone concedes exists along the road, has expanded in scope far beyond overkill.

Also left for dead is citizen trust -- from the Walter Kulash fiasco to ignored public input -- citizens are the losers here.

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/2014/03/26/3012517/editorial-a-road-project-decades.html?sp=/99/203/#storylink=cpy

Forest Hill Road widening video of - MONSTER Machine - Tree Cutter in Action

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMCARLPP6xg

Sent: Friday, March 28, 2014 6:05 PM
To: Lee Martin
Cc: Suzan Rivers
Subject: Re: Please don't ride down Forest Hill Road, but if you do, carry your airsick bag with you

Oh Lee........ I am so sorry. It seems like a thousand years ago that I popped into your shop and we cooked up the idea of CAUTION. We really did get a lot done , but I had to get back to making my children my top priority. Remember, they were so little at the time. Since then I had to take on the cancer battle since 2008. But, you and Susan and Lindsay should get a gold metal for all your hard work over these many years. Macon has no planning. It has no vision. It is going to the dogs. We spend a lot of time at our cottage on Pine Mountain so we are in Columbus a lot. They have got it so together that we hate to come back to Macon. Walker wants to sell the house but real estate in Macon is in the gutter. All of our old gang could have accomplished so much more if we had lived it a different city where our vision and skills would have been used and appreciated. I am so sorry about Forest Hill. I work every day with breast cancer patients. I do funny speeches and have written a very upbeat book. Check out my blog suzanrivers.blogspot.com or my author facebook at www.facebook.com/suzan.rivers.1 My cell is 478-951-2203 if y'all want to get together. I did all I could do but I couldn't fight city hall and cancer too. My book is available on Amazon "Dear Girlfriend" A Hand-held Walk Through Breast Cancer I'll try to get a copy by to you. I am so sorry. Love to you and Susan and thanks from the bottom of my heart for all you both have done for our community.

Suzan Rivers, Author
(478) 951-2203

To order a copy of my book "Dear Girlfriend, A Handheld Walk Through Breast Cancer" in paper, click here. For an e-book, click here. I'd love to have you visit and "Like" my author Facebook page and my Blog, Suzan with a "Z". Please help me take a shot at breast cancer and forward this information to all your friends!
Thank you!

From: Lee Martin < mermaidlover@bellsouth.net>
To: 'Charlie Brogdon' <charlie174@cox.net>; 'Gigi Rolfes' <volmacon@bellsouth.net >; Jaime Webb <jhw@mylink.net>; Lindsay Holliday <teeth@mindspring.com>; Mary Ann Richardson <mar5331@cox.net>; Michael Ryan <LMRYAN2003@yahoo.com>; 'Myrtle Habersham' <mshabersham@gmail.com>; Nick Pietrzak <npietrzak@cox.net>; Ron Lemon <LemonDoc@bellsouth.net >; Susan Hanberry Martin < Susan.Hanberry@stratford.org>; Tim Thornton <tdthornton@bellsouth.net >; Tony Blash (CAC) <blash.tony@mccg.org>; 'Tony Cunningham' <extempo1992@yahoo.com>; Warren Martin <TheBlues9108@aol.com>
Cc: Adam Ragusea GPB <aragusea@gpb.org>; Al Tillman 2 <MBCTillman@maconbibb.us >; Alex Morrison < Alex.Morrison@macon.ga.us>; Andres Lopez (Macon Tel) <alopez@macon.com>; Greg Brown <gbrown@mbpz.org>; Jim Thomas <jpthomas@mbpz.org>; Josephine Bennett <jbennett@gpb.org>; mbcbechtel@maconbibb.us
Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2014 10:49 AM
Subject: Please don't ride down Forest Hill Road, but if you do, carry your airsick bag with you

All,
I rode down Forest Hill Road last evening and I strongly suggest you donâ€™t, or you will be sick to your stomach. The cutting and removal of the decades old trees, and ultimately the desecration of the neighborhood is so unconscionable and unnecessary. Blame can be laid squarely, and justifiably at Mayor Reichertâ€™s doorstep.
Lee M

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world;
indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.

Margret Mead

Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 14:41:38 -0400
To: Andy Edwards <andrew.edwards@dot.gov>,
Cindy Van Dyke <cyvandyke@dot.ga.gov>,Jack Reed <jreed@dot.ga.gov>,
Tom McQueen <tmcqueen@dot.ga.gov>,"Kelly Gwin" <kgwin@dot.ga.gov>,
Don Tussing <dtussing@mbpz.org>,
From: Holliday Dental <teeth@mindspring.com>
Subject: Traffic Projection Forecasts are Best Done by Citizens in Macon
Cc: to MATS CAC

Dear DOT Traffic Experts:

In MATS Policy meeting this morning we learned that Moreland-Altobelli is Re-Doing the Traffic Projection Studies for Forest Hill Road. These studies are to be sent to GDOT for "GDOT's approval".

Consider this news article posted today on NPR:
"A group of 3,000 ordinary citizens, armed with nothing more than an Internet connection, is often making better forecasts of global events than CIA analysts. "
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/04/02/297839429/-so-you-think-youre-smarter-than-a-cia-agent

Consider also that Bibb Citizens have more accurately (than Moreland) projected traffic on both Houston Road and Forest Hill Road in Macon!

Can Macon Citizens make better Traffic Projection Forecasts than the "experts at GaDOT and Moreland Altobelli Engineering consultants?
Answer is - Clearly, Demonstratively, YES!

So WHY are the taxpayers giving money to Moreland-Altobelli.. and to antonymous (name-tag-less and sometimes arrogant) employees at GDOT?
- a company (and a state department) that has angered the local citizens for decades..
-a company (and a state department) that is not as accurate at projecting the need for local road capacity as the "local yokels"?

Is it because our local political leaders have followed the bad advice from the "wrong set of experts". Jealous, spiteful, arrogant "experts" who seem to be competing (unsuccessfully) against the Citizen's sublime wisdom?

- Lindsay Holliday

Moreland needs to go.

Editorial Letter

Last week at a meeting of transportation officials, Mayor Reichert announced that he has hired Moreland-Altobelli to create new "Traffic Projections" for the southern section of Forest Hill Road nearest Vineville Avenue. New traffic projections are being required by Georgia DOT because the previous traffic projections (also done by Moreland) are now obviously very, very far off the mark due to numerous factors that Moreland failed to predict. Or to project.

In a similar situation, Moreland's projections were so far off for Houston Road that, as soon as it was supersized to 5-lanes (2-lanes more than the citizens voted for in the 1994 SPLOST) Macon-Bibb County Planning and Zoning dropped predictions from 25,000 to 10,000 cars per day. A 250% error by Moreland! Is Moreland totally incompetent, or what? Why is Mayor Reichert re-hiring a firm with such a proven poor record of projections?

Moreland has a vested interest in creating numbers that make his bad ideas look better. The bigger his numbers, the more he can charge to design and manage our road projects. This whole situation stinks to high heaven. Macon Commissioners need to tell Moreland to pack up his carpet-bag and go back home to Atlanta. Reichert needs to let go of his old political crony. The taxpayers can't afford to buy any more of his "horse-feathers".

Documentation of Moreland's erroneous, self-serving projections are online:
http://www.macon-bibb.com/FHR/traffic.htm
..
- Lindsay D Holliday

4-18-2014
(published Apr 25, 2014)
Editors

I appreciate the opportunity to respond to Spyros Dermatas' letter in the Telegraph on Good Friday.

While it is true that Forest Hill Road (FHR) is "Not the mayor’s road" in the sense that the mayor did not personally pay for this mess, it is also true that the FHR project was stalled and GDOT did not plan to proceed until the mayor wrote them an official letter on July 6, 2009.

In another letter on July 22, 2010 the mayor asked US Congressman Jim Marshall to back-off and avoid any official inquiries that "would delay the project's implementation" . The mayor and Chairman Sam Hart wrote to Marshall, "We trust the project will be allowed to go forward as planned".

Both letters are webposted and their tone suggests the project was on life-support and would have died without active promotion by the mayor.

As far as safety of the road design, several attorneys and road design experts who are not beholden to GDOT have stated that "clearly, GDOT is not using the safest designs"

GDOT's current plan is too wide and too fast for an established residential neighborhood. Civic planners know from experience that putting unnecessary thoroughfares in our neighborhoods leads to both sprawl and blight.

However, it is not too late to change the final striping plan to make the road safer. We can always change the striping after GDOT is finished, but it is much cheaper to change the plan now. A safer striping plan has been presented to the mayor. It is not too late for the mayor to exert wise leadership here and change a lemon into lemonade. Then the mayor might proudly claim FHR as his.

- Lindsay D Holliday

Mayor's letter to GDOT on 7-6-09
http://www.macon-bibb.com/FHR/MayorComments_Reichert-2-GDOT_20090706.pdf

Letter to Congressman Jim Marshall
http://www.macon-bibb.com/FHR/FHR_Hart-Reichert-to-Marshall_20100722.jpg

...

"Not the mayor’s road

"Forest Hill Road in north Macon is not Mayor Robert Reichert’s road as some have claimed in the past few weeks. It is Macon-Bibb County’s road which will become much safer once the expansion project is completed by the Georgia Department of Transportation. The condition of this road has been deplorable for many years, as is the condition of several other roads and streets in our county (Jeffersonville Road, Ingleside Avenue, Log Cabin Drive, etc.).

Kudos to our friend, Lindsay Holliday, and his cohorts at Caution Macon for leading the good fight against massive and unnecessary changes, and kudos to those, including Mayor Reichert, who persisted in getting the necessary upgrades so that this road will meet today’s standards. Even Holliday said years ago that he was not against all the proposed changes. Dilapidated narrow lanes that are cracked and full of potholes (and without adequate shoulders) are not safe for our motorists to say the least.

It’s a shame that many in our community do not understand what is happening with the expansion. Georgia DOT is not constructing the obtrusive massive five-lane highway that had been proposed several years ago. Some had even labeled it an “interstate” back them. Rather, we will get two safe travel lanes and a turn lane, plus sidewalks for pedestrians for the section of Forest Hill Road between Wimbish Road and Northside Drive. And we will get a traffic light at Old Lundy Road to boot.

Let’s put this issue to rest and move forward, especially now that we have a consolidated local government, and we’re not “playing” the city against the county. And let’s all work together so that all of our roads and streets are upgraded and properly maintained.

-- Spyros N. Dermatas