Clayton News Daily

By Maria Jose Subiria

msubiria@news-daily.com

With the awarding of a more than $1 million construction contract to C.W. Matthews Contracting Co., Inc., by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), recently, more than four miles of roads in Clayton County will undergo resurfacing and reconstruction, according to David Spear, a spokesman for GDOT.

The money for the work is provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly referred to as the federal stimulus program. Clayton County, Spear said, will administer the project.

According to Spear, the stimulus project will include resurfacing and reconstruction work on Mount Zion Road, between Richardson Parkway and Highway 138; Flint River Road, between Kendricks Road and Greenwoods Road; and Wildwood Road, between Woolsey Road and Fortson Road.

Construction will begin sometime in March, or April, because temperatures will be above 45 degrees -- when asphalt sets appropriately and binds itself to the roadway, according to Spear. The work, he said, "is expected to be completed by this June."

Spear said GDOT chose the selected roads in Clayton County, because they are considered a priority on the county's list of roads in need of maintenance.

"We've asked local governments to submit a list of their most needed preferences," he said.

GDOT has obligated $10.9 million in stimulus funds to Clayton County, throughout the economic stimulus program's existence, which began in May 2009, he added.

Spear said that, through the federal economic stimulus program in January, GDOT awarded new construction contracts for 12 projects throughout the state of Georgia, appraised at $13.2 million.

"Stimulus funds continue to play an integral role in the department's ability to maintain and expand the state's transportation infrastructure and provide Georgians with good-paying jobs," added GDOT Commissioner Vance Smith, Jr.