Avondale Estates, GA — Avondale Estates is getting closer to beginning construction on the U.S. 278 complete street project. The city commission discussed four contracts, including the construction contract, during its work session on March 27.

The U.S. 278 complete street project includes a “road diet” that would reduce the number of lanes on the road from five to three between Sam’s Crossing and Ashton Place. The project corridor is 1.15 miles long.

The total cost of the construction is about $8.5 million. Construction will likely begin in May or June and take about 18 months to complete.

U.S. 278 is the main drag in Avondale Estates, which also has the names of East College Avenue and North Avondale Road as it runs through the city and its historic downtown.

The project also calls for a 10-foot path along the entire corridor on the north side of the street, new traffic lights and streetlights, a center median, on-street parking, and a five-foot sidewalk on the south side of the street between South Avondale Road and Sam’s Crossing. The city is not planning to touch the Abelia hedge as part of the project.

The city commission will likely vote on the contracts at its April 10 meeting. The contracts include:

– A contract between the Georgia Department of Transportation

– A contract with IP Construction to build the project

– A contract with Midtown ATL Solutions to help with grant administration

– A contract with Stantec for construction administration

Avondale Estates will receive a $2 million in funding from the Atlanta Regional Commission for the U.S. 278 complete street project, which ARC will approve in early April.

In other business:

– The city commission discussed the sanitation and stormwater fees. The city commission approved a contract with Arrow Waste on March 13 for sanitation and recycling services, meaning the total sanitation fee assessed to households would be about $373.28. The city commission agreed that the sanitation fee should be $380 for the year.

Arrow will begin collecting solid waste and recycling curbside once a week in May. The city’s public works department would continue collecting yard waste.

The city commission also discussed keeping the stormwater fee at $180 for the year. City Manager Patrick Bryant said the fee is enough to maintain the service, but next year, the city commission should look at the numbers again and consider a possible increase.

– The city commission also discussed a residential composting pilot program. Elmore announced during the State of the City Address that the city will launch a residential curbside composting pilot program in the fall with the help of a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture.

The city partnered with DeKalb Commissioner Ted Terry and CompostNow to apply for the USDA grant.

“Not only is this a wonderful opportunity for residents to contribute positively to our environment by reducing what we send to the landfill, but the compost will be shared with Roots Down and Food Well Alliance,” he said.

Roots Down will distribute the compost to local DeKalb County public library edible gardens, and Food Well Alliance will distribute to Black, Indigenous and people of color farmers in the Atlanta area.