Costs Going Up for Williams Farm Drive Project

The bill for the in Dacula is going up once more. Earlier this month, the originally awarded to Allied Paving for the project. On Nov. 17, the council approved an additional $16,000 change order.

City crews are currently in the middle of a project to repair and repave 2,170 linear feet of roadway from the area of 3100 Williams Farm Drive to the end of the cul-de-sac. Once crews began work, they discovered sub-grade soil in such poor condition that it was deemed unsuitable for proper compaction.

According to Dacula City Administrator Jim Osborn, the 20-year-old roadway was apparently built on top of several trash pits that were dug at the time the houses on Williams Farm Drive were constructed. Osborn described the sub-soil as sandy, loamy material -- a mixture of sand, topsoil and organic matter.

“It’s a miracle it has lasted this long,” Osborn said. “Really it’s a miracle we haven’t had a sinkhole on this road.”

To address the problem, crews excavated the roadway to a depth of about four feet and added a layer of stone to build what Osborn described as a “bridge” between the bad soil and the asphalt. The problem, Osborn said, is that the area with poor, sub-grade soil has turned out to be larger than expected. Initially, city officials believed the problem was confined to the cul-de-sac, but have since learned it extends up Williams Farm Drive. Osborn said the initial change order funds have been exhausted and more money is needed to build a stable roadway.

In order to complete the project at a reasonable cost to the taxpayers, the city plans to lay a geotextile fabric to serve as a barrier between the bad soil and the roadbed. The original road specifications are also being altered to increase the amounts of graded aggregate base, binder and topping. The changes will add an additional $16,000 to the project cost.

“We’ve just got to do the best we can,” Osborn said. “Make this road as acceptable as possible without spending an arm and a leg.”