One of the most severely damaged roads from the rains that pummeled Bulloch County during Hurricane Idalia in August will soon see progress in terms of repairs.
Bulloch County Commissioners will address one of the first steps in the Brannen Pond Road repairs at the December 19 commission meeting. The project, however, is still in the early stages with Tuesday’s discussion pertaining only to design services.
On the agenda released Thursday:
Following state and federal guidelines for procurement of engineering design services, County staff selected the most qualified firm for this project based on scoring criteria in the RFQ. Staff then requested the top-scoring firm, Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., to submit a cost proposal broken down into task orders. Negotiations between county staff and Kimley-Horn resulted in some adjustments to the cost proposal.
The total cost of $158,000 includes all of the proposed task orders, some of which are optional and may not be necessary for completion of the project, depending on the final design and requirements of FEMA and the US Army Corps of Engineers. After completion of the hydraulic and hydrologic analysis it will become more clear as to which task orders will be required. The county will only direct the consultant to proceed with those task orders that are necessary as the project proceeds, and will only pay the consultant for those task orders that are performed. Construction will be bid out after completion of the design.
The County’s estimate for this work, using industry pay ranges for engineering design services, was $147,000 to $177,000. The County Engineer recommends approval of this contract. The County is applying for FEMA reimbursement for this project.
Brannen Pond Road was damaged by flooding caused by Hurricane Idalia. Stormwater ran over the road, destroyed the shoulder, washed away guardrail, and undermined the pavement. The County Engineer has determined that the capacity of the existing drainage culverts as well as the cross section and design of the road need to be evaluated at this location, to build a more resilient road and drainage structure for future storms, and provide a safer roadway for the traveling public.
