Get ready for a new spillway on the south end of Lake Peachtree. The Peachtree City Council on Aug. 17 approved a spillway bid, arranged for financing and hired the project manager. Look for activity on the project to begin in late August.
The council approved the $4.387 million low bid by North Georgia Concrete, Inc. for the Lake Peachtree spillway project. Bids ranged from $4.387 million to $7.081 million.
Above, Integrated Science and Engineering President Dan Davis at the Aug. 17 meeting of the Peachtree City Council. Photo/Ben Nelms.
North Georgia Concrete is a local company, said Integrated Science and Engineering (ISE) President Dan Davis.
Fayette County will contribute $2 million and SPLOST (special purpose local option sales tax) revenues will make up the remaining amount. Those revenues will repay an anticipated Ga. Environmental Finance Authority loan that comes with a .81 percent rate of interest.
The council also approved ISE as the project manager for a total of $358,850. Funding for project management will come from SPLOST revenues.
Residents should be aware that, as with the previous dredging, construction can be delayed by weather conditions.
Fayette County followed suit with a notice about what to expect.
“Fayette County residents living around or driving past Lakes Kedron and Peachtree in Peachtree City over the coming months will see a drop in the levels of both lakes as part of the Lake Peachtree spillway replacement project that begins this month,” the county news release said.
Peachtree City is on schedule with the design, permitting, and contract documents for the spillway project, and has requested that the Fayette County Water System, which manages Lake Peachtree under contract with the city, begin lowering the lake level on Monday, Aug. 28.
The first phase of the project, construction of a cofferdam to keep the spillway construction zone dry, will require Lake Peachtree to be lowered by a total of eight feet. This will expose the lake bed in the area closest to Ga. Highway 54, but there will be some water remaining in the southern half of the lake.
Lake Kedron will see a slight drop in water level (two feet) around early November, when Lake Peachtree’s water level is raised by two feet. This minor increase will put a shallow layer of water over the northern portion of the lake, almost to Hwy. 54, to prevent weed growth during the construction period. The corresponding drop in Lake Kedron’s lake level will provide a safety reservoir to protect the spillway construction zone in case of heavy rains.
The construction schedule for the spillway is:
•Aug. 17 – City Council awarded spillway construction contract
•Aug. 28 – begin lowering Lake Peachtree by a total of 8 ft.
•Mid-September – Mid October – Construct cofferdam
•Late October – Lower Lake Kedron by 2 ft., raise Lake Peachtree by 2 ft.
•November – February – Construct new spillway foundation
•March – May – Construct new spillway walls and weirs
•May – June – Project closeout and return Lake Peachtree & Lake Kedron to full pool
Both Lake Peachtree and Lake Kedron will be allowed to refill to normal water levels by June 2018, when the spillway project is scheduled to be completed.
A section of cart path along Kelly Drive near the spillway will be closed when construction begins. Detour routes with applicable signage will be posted throughout the affected areas.
Located on the homepage at www.peachtree-city.org, City Clerk Betsy Tyler provides a comprehensive look at the project and its various phases.
Here’s the news release from Peachtree City:
Lake Peachtree Spillway Contract Approved, Lake Lowering Begins August 28
Path detour will be required during construction
On August 17, the Peachtree City Mayor and Council unanimously approved a $4.387 million construction contract with North Georgia Concrete for the Lake Peachtree Spillway Replacement. North Georgia Concrete built the Lake McIntosh dam and spillway, along with the recent Pye Lake dam replacement in Fayetteville. Fayette County and Peachtree City will jointly fund the project, which was included in the 2017 SPLOST list.
The new spillway will feature a “piano key weir,” which allows for the greatest outflow of water during heavy storm events, while preserving the adjacent Kelly Drive/McIntosh Trail bridge. The spillway has been designed to meet the State’s latest Category 1 dam specifications (updated in the past year), and the dam will also be upgraded to the Category 1 requirements.
The City will issue the Notice to Proceed for September, in line with the project timeline (available at www.peachtree-city.org/LAKE). The water level of Lake Peachtree will begin to be lowered on Monday, August 28, by a maximum of eight feet. The project is then scheduled to allow for incremental water level increases (by two feet in November after the cofferdam construction, and another possible two feet in February after the spillway foundation has been completed).
While all construction projects of this nature are influenced by the elements, time has been built into the schedule to anticipate bad weather, while minimizing the area of exposed lake bed during weed-growing season. The cofferdam and a corresponding lowering of Lake Kedron by two feet in November will protect the construction area from significant rain events.
During construction of the spillway, a path detour around the work zone will also be required. Traffic on the east side of Lake Peachtree will connect with McIntosh Trail via Fishers Luck. The McIntosh Trail / Kelly Drive bridge will be closed to golf cart traffic, requiring use of the path bridge over Flat Creek just south of the roadway. A new path has been cleared from that bridge back to Kelly Drive adjacent to the Community Gardens (Detour Map available at http://www.peachtree-city.org/DocumentCenter/View/10447).
The entire spillway project remains on schedule for Lake Peachtree to begin refilling in May 2018, with completion in June 2018.
