Dunwoody Construction Project Update

Dunwoody, Ga.  June 17, 2015 – The City of Dunwoody is currently engaged in several beneficial and exciting infrastructure projects in different phases of active development and construction.

Summer Street Paving Heats Up

The 2015 street paving and street resurfacing program is starting to get underway and the city is anticipating work beginning the week of June 15 and continuing for approximately 10 to 12 weeks.  The city intends to work on a total of 48 streets, which equates to more than eight (8) road miles of paving and resurfacing. The city anticipates paving work on Vermack Road and Vanderlyn Drive to begin next week. The complete list of streets being repaved and/or resurfaced is as follows:

STREET	START POINT	END POINT
Vermack Road	Parliament Drive	Dunwoody Square
Independence Square to	Chamblee Dunwoody Road	Peeler Road
Vanderlyn Drive	Vermack Road	End
Hidden Branches Drive	Mount Vernon Road	Winding Branch Circle
Pine Bark Court	Hidden Branches	End
Hidden Branches Close	Hidden Branches Drive	End
Hunters Branch Drive	Hidden Branches Drive	375 feet west
Pine Branch Point	Pine Bark Circle	End
Winding Branch Court	Winding Branch Drive	End
Old Branch Court	Twin Branches Way	End
Wellshire Lane	Wellshire Place	End
Equestrian Court	Equestrian Way	End
The Woodsong	Woodsong Drive	End
Woodsong Trail	Dunwoody Club Drive	Dunwoody Club Drive
Woodsong Drive	Woodsong Trail	End
Holly Oak Place	Chamblee Dunwoody Road	End
Sirron Court	Holly Oak Place	End
Shadow Court	Start	End
Pine Acres Court	Chamblee Dunwoody Road	End
Corners Cove	Vermack Road	End
Brandywine Court	Vermack Road	End
Manget Way	Chamblee Dunwoody Road	End
Vermack Ridge	Vermack Road	End
Dunkerrin Lane	Tilly Mill Road	Dunover Circle
Ledgewood Drive	Riverglenn Circle	Dunover Circle
Pine Branches Close	Pine Bark Circle	End
Pine Bark Circle	Hidden Branches Drive	Hidden Branches Drive
Claridge Court	Sudbury Road	End
Woodsong Court	Woodsong Trail	End
Withmere Court	Withmere Way	End
Reston Court	Withmere Way	End
Shadow Bend	Chamblee Dunwoody Road	Shadow Court
Corners Drive	Vermack Road	Mount Vernon Road
Corners Court	Corners Drive	End
Kings Down Court	Kings Down Circle	End
Santa Fe Station	Mile Post Drive	End
Topeka Court	Atcheson Lane	End
Amberly Way	Sudbury Road	Amberly Court North
Amberly Court South	Amberly Way	End
Trailridge Place	Trailridge Drive	End
Trailridge Pass	Trailridge Place	Trailridge Lane
Trailridge Lane	Hidden Branches Drive	End
Wickliffe Court	Kings Point Drive	End
Haverstraw Drive	Huntington Circle	Brookhurst Drive
Dunhaven Court	Dunhaven Road	End
Dunhaven Road	Brookhurst Drive East	Kings Point Circle

The following roads will be crack sealed as needed:

STREET	START POINT	END POINT
Perimeter Center West	Ashford Dunwoody Road	Crown Pointe Parkway
Peeler Road	Tilly Mill Road	Winters Chapel Road

Additional roads from the city’s supplemental list and from future years could be addressed based on available funds and construction schedules. In December 2013, a special pavement assessment and data collection vehicle equipped with lasers, computers and other equipment drove Dunwoody streets to collect pavement condition information.  The truck gathered important data and measurements of overall roughness, rutting, cracking and general street condition to update the citywide pavement assessment. For more information about the assessment and future paving plans visit http://dunwoodyga.gov/index.php?section=departments_public_works_paving  

Mt. Vernon Road Infrastructure Improvements

DeKalb County is in the process of replacing two aging water mains with one new 16-inch diameter main along Mount Vernon Road between Ashford Dunwoody Road and Vernon Oaks Drive.  These required infrastructure improvement efforts by the county are not only necessary but critical for the maintenance and quality of Dunwoody’s water system.

These crucial infrastructure improvements present the city with an opportunity to make much needed road surface and pedestrian improvements along the Mount Vernon Road corridor.  Subsequent to the installation of the new water main, the city will resurface this entire section of Mount Vernon Road and also construct new sidewalks on the south side of Mount Vernon Road between Dunwoody Village Parkway and Vernon Oaks Drive.  

Work is progressing along Mount Vernon Road and crews are anticipating completion of the water main pipe work between Vernon Oaks Drive and Wickford Way by June 24, weather permitting. The water main pipe work started at Vernon Oaks Drive, has progressed past Wickford Way and is almost to the beginning of the commercial office park area along Mount Vernon Road.  Crews will soon begin to lay sidewalk in the completed area (from Vernon Oaks up to Mount Vernon Way) and should be finished in this area by mid July. The proposed sidewalk from Mount Vernon Way up to Ashford Dunwoody will be constructed following all of the remaining water main pipe work in this area. The next steps will be testing and chlorinating the waterline for the entire length of new pipe which should begin at the end of June.

Phase II of the project includes water line work form the eastern end of the commercial office park area along Mount Vernon all the way to the Ashford Dunwoody intersection.  The lane closures in this area will be less disruptive because of a wider width of roadway.  The strategy during this phase is to have one lane open in each direction at all times within the majority of the construction area. The road will be paved form Ashford Dunwoody Road to Vernon Oaks Drive once al shoulder work is complete.

All work along Mount Vernon Road, between Ashford Dunwoody Road and Vernon Oaks Drive, is expected to be complete by the end of 2015.  Residents, businesses and community members interested in receiving ongoing project updates and information can sign up for email alerts via the Mount Vernon Water Main Replacement project web page, by emailing construction@dunwoodyga.gov or by calling the Department of Public Works at 678-382-6850. 

Questions regarding these paving projects or other road construction projects in process can be addressed by contacting John Gurbal at john.gurbal@dunwoodyga.gov.

New Sidewalks Address Pedestrian Safety and Access

The 2015 budget includes funding for progress on the capital paving plan along with significant investments into sidewalk improvements providing new connections to a number of important amenities and character areas.

The newly completed sidewalks on Hensley Drive provide a walking route to Vanderlyn Elementary School for the homes in the Vernon Ridge subdivision and connecting neighborhoods. Whether used for health benefits or a means to avoid traffic congestion, sidewalks and other alternative accommodations provide tremendous value to residents and businesses in Dunwoody. 

The city also recently finished a sidewalk project along Mount Vernon Way (on the west side of the road from Mount Vernon Road to Withmere Way ) to provide nearby residents with a safe route to Dunwoody Village as well as pedestrian connectivity within the community.

With the completion of the two sidewalk segments, the city has installed nine (9) miles of sidewalk since 2009. An additional 14 miles of future sidewalk improvements have been identified (see the Sidewalk Improvement Policy) to close gaps between existing sidewalk segments or to connect them with proposed sidewalks at intersection improvement projects, making the city’s roads safer, and more enjoyable for all.

In addition to the sidewalk improvement policy, the city is also implementing recommendations from the 2014 Pedestrian Safety Action Plan.  This plan identifies improvements at uncontrolled crosswalks within the city.  Improvements at the following locations are programed for 2015:

·                     Mount Vernon Road at Forrest Springs Drive near Stratham Drive

·                     Womack Road - Dunwoody Elementary School (western entrance)

New Crosswalk at Tilly Mill & Stonington

Construction crews will soon be active at the crosswalk for Tilly Mill at Stonington Avenue near the border of Dunwoody and Doraville. The crosswalk improvement project is designed to increase pedestrian safety, through the installation of a concrete sidewalk.  The project will also include the addition of ADA-compliant curb ramps along with rapid flashing beacons situated on either side of the crosswalk to alert drivers in both directions of a pedestrian entering the roadway.

Questions regarding these or any other pedestrian projects and initiatives can be addressed by contacting Mindy Sanders at mindy.sanders@dunwoodyga.gov.

Perimeter Center Intersection Crosswalk Improvements

Intersection crosswalk repairs in the Perimeter area began Sunday June 14 and will continue throughout the next month and a half.  Crews plan to remove concrete crosswalks and replace crosswalks with asphalt.  All construction work will occur Sunday – Thursday evenings from 8:00 pm to 6:00 am. Crews do not anticipate working Friday or Saturday evenings, unless necessitated by weather. The work will be conducted at the following intersections:

·         Perimeter center parkway at MARTA  entrance

·         Ashford Dunwoody at Hammond Drive

·         Ashford Dunwoody at Ravinia

·         Ashford Dunwoody at Perimeter Center West

·         Ashford Dunwoody at Meadow Lane

Ground Broken and Construction Started at Park on Pernoshal Court

On Thursday, June 4, the city and DeKalb County officials participated in a groundbreaking celebration on the grounds of what will be the city’s newest park. Located at Pernoshal Court, the park will be approximately 5-acres and will be the largest newly-built park created since incorporation.   Shortly following the groundbreaking ceremony construction crews were at work clearing brush and debris, grading, cleaning and excavating for the new pavilion and restroom building. 

Crews have also been clearing debris along the centerline of the newest segment of the Dunwoody Trailway.    In addition to the multi-use trail, the park will have a centralized pavilion/restroom facility, 162 parking spaces for park and trail users, passive and active open areas/fields for sports, and basketball courts with a pickle ball court overlay. The park construction is expected to be complete by the end of 2015.

As with Georgetown Park, a key feature to Pernoshal Park will be the multi-use trail connectivity which links the elements within Pernoshal Park across the 19-acre property. When complete, the multi-use trail will stretch approximately three miles from Chamblee Dunwoody Road at its western point to the trail loop within Brook Run Park to the east.

Open Fields at Brook Run Get Tryout

Shortly after the end of the school year, the Dunwoody High School Lacrosse team organized a special week-long lacrosse camp at the back fields in Brook Run Park. What was unique about the camp is that it was the first time the fields at the back part of the park have been used for active recreation purposes. It also marked the first camp help by the DHS lacrosse team, signaling the growing popularity of the sport. Future organized activities may take place at the back fields in Brook Run Park based on public interest and availability.

Donaldson Bannister Farmhouse: stabilization

The Donaldson-Bannister Farmhouse was built in the 1870’s and has been named to the Georgia Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places. Presently, the building is in need of renovation before it can be opened to the public. To aid in this initiative the Dunwoody Preservation Trust commissioned a Master Plan for the property to guide the planned renovations and future investment in the property.

The city is beginning the first phase of renovations with efforts to stabilize the farmhouse and protect against further deterioration. Improvements include the repair of a bowed wall, replacement of windows and roof repairs. Additionally, a non-historic section of the barn will be removed and an ADA compliant restroom, a multi-purpose room and an outdoor gathering place will be constructed in accordance with the historical character of the property.

The restorative construction will take place over the next several months and the facilities are expected to be stabilized by the end of 2015. 

Georgetown Park Playground Shade Structures

The children’s playground at Georgetown Park will soon become a lot cooler, even during the coming summer months.  The city has approved the installation of shade structures over the playground to provide ample shade to the playground equipment and playground guests.  The playground shade structures will be similar to those currently installed at Brook Run Park Children’s Adventure Garden. Shade structure installation will begin in June and are expected to be complete by the end of July.

Questions regarding these or any other park project can be addressed by contacting Brent Walker at brent.walker@dunwoodyga.gov.