A portion of South Gaskin Avenue is scheduled to close to through traffic June 12 for construction of a culvert, which is necessary due to the widening of the perimeter road (U.S. 221/SR 135).
Drivers will not be able to access Gaskin Avenue from the perimeter road/Bowens Mill Road. Traffic will detour to Old Axson Road and then to Pine Street. Local traffic can access Gaskin from Pine Street, but no through traffic will be allowed.
The contractor is permitted to close the road for 90 days. However, to minimize the inconvenience to drivers, the contractor plans to build the new culvert, reopen Gaskin Avenue and remove the old culvert at a later date. Construction of the culvert could take five or six weeks.
The contractor will be installing a double box culvert 120 feet in length. Each culvert is six feet high and 10 feet wide. This will accommodate the stream that runs under Gaskin Avenue and the widening of perimeter road.
The $32.7 million Georgia Department of Transportation project to widen and reconstruct SR 135 is due to be finished in May 2020. The project begins at U.S. 441, where it ties into the southwest portion of the perimeter road, and ends at SR 32. It includes construction of a bridge to replace the at-grade railroad crossing near Iron Road, which will enhance safety and alleviate traffic back-ups.