Windsor Parkway Intersection Remains Closed Due To Road Failure

Sign up for the Sandy Springs Patch newsletter!

---

Sandy Springs, GA -- The city of Sandy Springs has taken a significant step to repair a Windsor Parkway intersection that has been closed due to the actions by a contractor.

The road has been closed at Jolyn Place since Jan. 15 due to the road’s “failure” directly related to the stormwater detention construction, the city said.

Summit Construction Company was the contractor for the project, which is linked to the project to realign the Windsor Parkway/Roswell Road intersection since it includes a drainage pipe that will feed directly into the detention facility.

Baldwin Construction is handling the realignment project.

City Manager John McDonough and Assistant City Manager Bryant Poole provided the City Council with an update to the situation at its Feb. 16 meeting.

Poole reiterated the city has no issues with Baldwin and the work it‘s doing to realign the major intersection.

Summit was given a notice to proceed in July 2015 with the detention construction project and had a 150-day window to complete the work.

However, Poole said the work has been riddled with “design errors” and rain delays. Noting that if the company were granted a 53-day extension, Poole said crews could be wrapping up the project around this time of year.

Unfortunately, Summit is nowhere near that stage in the project, Poole said.

The city has given the company every opportunity to correct its performance, ranging from bringing in the right personnel to utilizing the correct construction techniques. It’s also asked Summit to give a timeline on how and when it will repair the road.

The ordeal, Poole said, has “just really frustrated” city staff members as well as Sandy Springs’ legal team.

Since Summit has ”failed continuously” to give the city any confidence that it should continue with its services, Sandy Springs on Feb. 3 provided the company a notice of default. It also gave Summit seven days to determine how it was going to shore and reopen the road as well as complete the work for the detention project.

Not satisfied with the response from the company, Sandy Springs informed Summit Feb. 12 that it would be taking over the shoring and repair of Windsor Parkway and it would be terminating the company’s contract.

Poole stated the city will back bill Summit for the work it will have to perform, adding the road has caved in between 10 and 12 feet.

Sandy Springs will now hire a contractor through its emergency procurement process to secure and repair the road, which will allow the city to reopen the intersection as quickly as possible.

Sandy Springs is also in talks with Summit’s bonding company, and has also given it 30 days to outline how it will complete Summit’s detention project.

McDonough said staff hopes to have the road reopened by mid-April. Meanwhile, the Windsor Parkway realignment project continues as planned, and the city hopes to shift traffic on the new roadway by early April, pending the completion of work to re-stabilize the failed roadway section.

If that aspect of the project isn’t complete, the city will review alternatives to finding appropriate drainage solutions so the project can proceed.

For residents and motorist alike, Sandy Springs police and the city’s Citizens on Patrol members will help with traffic control in the area during peak travel times.

McDonough added the city has authorized the Police Department to dole out overtime pay to officers currently working the area to redirect traffic.

---

Image via Shutterstock