County engineer details road, water and park projects; commissioners approve Pelican Lane waterline and a 45-day construction extension

Liberty County's public-works director briefed commissioners on ongoing infrastructure projects and brought several action items for approval, including a construction contract award and a contractor time extension.

County Engineer Trent Long said a DNR permit for one pier at Jones Creek has been submitted and the county plans a wetlands consultant contract of about $5,000 for boardwalk/wetlands work. Long also reported that five contractors picked up bid packages for a park perimeter walkway and that the pickleball courts have new lights and require additional striping and minor surface work before opening.

On water projects, Long reported the low bidder for the Pelican Lane waterline extension was Griffin Contracting at $166,095.51; commissioners approved the award and included a 10% contingency in the motion. Long said the Pelican Lane project will enable future connections in the area.

Long also described a separate water-system restoration west of the railroad: the project covers about 96 service connections in the immediate area and could support an additional roughly 113 connections when another planned subdivision develops. The contractor requested a 45-day time extension because of rain-related delays; commissioners approved the extension.

On rail and signal projects, Long said a railway-strike project had a contractor start date of July 21 and a completion deadline of Nov. 18, and the Flemington Village traffic signal permitting is progressing; the county has applied to DOT to place a variable message board and hopes the light will be operational in the next few weeks.

The long-term intersection project generating the most discussion was a proposed roundabout at U.S. 119 and Barrington Ferry Road in Riceboro. Long presented early layouts and said the county has already built Barrington Ferry Road to DOT specifications with 8-foot shoulders and an improved bridge to help support any future re-routing of State Route 119 onto Barrington Ferry. He told commissioners the roundabout's environmental and historic mitigation requirements will affect DOT participation and accelerate costs if the county seeks federal/state funds. "If we do the funding for the roundabout ourselves and we build it on our own and dedicate it to them, then we don't have to jump through all the environmental and the state historic preservation hurdles," Long said, noting county funding could shorten the timeline significantly. He gave a preliminary planning-level cost estimate around $3.5 million.

Commissioners also accepted deeded road/trail dedications that staff presented for Arcadia (three roads), Trails/Main Trail South, Sandpiper Drive and Pelican Cove Road so the county can prioritize right-of-way work and project funding.

What passed at the meeting:
- Pelican Lane waterline low bid awarded to Griffin Contracting for $166,095.51 with a 10% contingency.
- A contractor request for a 45-day extension on the water system restoration west of the railroad was approved.
- Several road/trail dedications (Arcadia-related roads, Main Trail South, Sandpiper Drive, Pelican Cove Road) were accepted.

What remains: Long said the roundabout will require additional surveying, property meetings and likely right-of-way acquisitions; county staff will return with refined plans and cost estimates. He also said if the county funds the roundabout directly it may avoid some federal/state historic-preservation steps, but that will require commissioners' commitment of local funds.

No county votes were recorded against the Pelican Lane award, the extension, or the dedications in the transcript; commissioners voted in favor of the motions as presented.