Categories: Community

East Main Street Project Construction Newsletter No.

City of Blue Ridge
480 West First Street
Blue Ridge, GA 30513
(706) 632-2091 Fax
(706) 632-3278 Phone

Greetings,

Colwell Construction Company is both pleased and proud to be given the opportunity to make an
already attractive downtown area that much more appealing. Set in the beautiful foothills of North
Georgia, the City of Blue Ridge is the vibrant heart of Fannin County. It is a Tourist destination that is
treasured by many, and a Respected home to even more.
Colwell Construction Company will begin Downtown improvements along East Main Street, for the
City of Blue Ridge. In the upcoming weeks, we “CCC” will be starting a 4 phase project to update, and
upgrade local facilities and utilities, in an effort to promote advances in accessibility for the citizens and
businesses. Colwell Construction will be providing an information box, to be located at the far
Northeast end of the boardwalk, nearest to “Three Sisters’ Fudge”. We will update the information on a
weekly basis, as far as the location and scope of the work, current and intended progress, as well as the
weather forecast, which will greatly influence our ability to work.
The 1st phase of the project will begin at Depot Street, along the North side of the street, closest
and parallel to the train depot. For the first 3 weeks, our focus will be to work in between Depot Street,
and the entrance to the “Three Sisters Fudge” candy store, at the East end of the parking area. Our first
order of business will be to remove the entire asphalt surface, to inspect the sub grade, proximity of
utilities, and establish the new Grade of the road surface. Partial closures to East Main Street will take
place during construction; however, we will re-open it to traffic at the end of each working shift. We will
only close the street as necessity dictates, for the safety and wellbeing of all involved. Colwell Construction Company intends on working five, ten hour shifts per week, that’s 7am-5pm, Monday
through Friday, as weather permits. We do not plan on having any working shifts on the weekends, or
Holidays. We will only work weekends, in the event that we have an unforeseen situation arise that
must be contended with. After the milling (Asphalt Removal) is completed on the first phase, we will
begin to add a new storm drain line to facilitate a more effective drainage system. As we come into
conjunction with other utilities, such as water and sewer, we will replace each unit respectively. Once
we finish with the storm drain, we will be moving on to the removal, and replacement of specific
sidewalks. The section of sidewalk beginning at the corner of Depot Street to the corner of Carter
Street, on the South side of the roadway, will be addressed during this phase. Currently, our tentative
dates are to begin mobilization on January 9th, 2017. We intend to finish the 1st phase by month’s end.
The 2nd phase of this endeavor will pick up where the first leaves off, and we expect the timeframe
to be nearly the same. The Milling process will resume, and the Grade of the roadway will be adjusted to
plan. We will continue to place new storm drain pipe, and tie into existing structures. Just the same as
in the first phase, when we intersect with utilities, we will attend to each of them accordingly. With the
storm drains in place, we will begin work on the sidewalk replacement. It is our goal to be able to
remove and replace at least 100 feet of sidewalk per day. We will make great strides at providing as
much parking and accessibility to all of the businesses and buildings in each section of the project.
Approximate dates for this phase are February 1st, through the 18th, 2017.

During the 3rd phase, we will be nearing the end of the storm drain, and side walk improvements.
Our attention will be on finalizing the pipe and concrete work from Carter Street down to Messer Street.
This phase is estimated to follow the same time line as the two previous phases. We are intentionally
separating the work zone into three nearly equal segments, so that we might better isolate the
construction activity, and any inconvenience therein. Again, we will do the utmost in providing
adequate parking and accessibility. Our dates projected for this phase will range from February 20th,
through the 11th of March.
The 4th, and final phase of the Downtown Improvements, will consist solely of resurfacing the
asphalt roadway along East Main Street. We plan on starting the paving process just as soon as all of the
initial phases of the project are completed. This will be the fastest moving operation, as we progress
from one end of the project to the other. In this phase, we will be implementing our highest volume of
heavy equipment, and it will be the most restrictive of roadway traffic. With the sidewalks complete, the
area will be more approachable by pedestrian traffic than automotive. We expect the final phase of the
project to be complete by the end of March.
Colwell Construction Company looks forward to bringing new and improved facilities to the
Downtown area. We are fully committed to making this beloved and historic location even more
beautiful, and accessible. We look for the cooperation of all patrons involved, from the City planners and
officials, to the business owners and supporters.
With Sincere Appreciation,
Colwell Construction Company.