FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — County commissioners signed off on nearly $7 million in reimbursements to the Georgia Department of Transportation for utility relocation during widening work on Ga. 9.
GDOT’s plans to add another northbound and southbound lane to the state route from the Fulton County line north about 10 miles to Ga. 20. The work will require moving the water and sewer pipes farther out to make way for the new lanes.
Under terms of a longstanding agreement with the county, GDOT supervises the work for its own projects, including utility relocation. Whoever owns the pipes reimburses the state for that portion of the contract.
Money for the Ga. 9 widening project reimbursement comes from the Forsyth County Water and Sewer Department, which receives no taxpayer dollars and is funded almost solely through fees it charges customers.
Department Director Barry Lucas said the expense should have no impact on rates, because line relocations are a regular part of the job, and their expense has been built into the budget.
Forsyth County Commissioner Todd Levent said the county knew for a long time the day would come when Ga. 9 would grow.
“Water and sewer lines are our responsibility,” he said. “GDOT wants it to be bundled so their contractor does the whole project, including moving the water lines. Once that’s broken down in the state bid, and we see what it is, then we draw up the agreements to reimburse them.”
The county was notified of the estimated costs in August in a letter from Shajan Joseph, assistant state utilities administrator. The requests broke the project reimbursements into three segments, along with the utility relocation costs:
• From the Fulton County line to McFarland Parkway, $1.7 million
• From McFarland Parkway to Post Road, $4.7 million
• From Ga. 141 to Ga. 20, $470,000
