NEWS BRIEFS: County awards $28 million resurfacing to Snell firm

The Gwinnett County Commissioners last week awarded E.R. Snell Contractor, Inc., a contract for more than $28 million to resurface county roads. The Georgia Department of Transportation will fund a quarter of the contract cost.

Gwinnett Transportation Director Lewis Cooksey says: “State funding allows our SPLOST dollars to stretch farther, in this case to pave more roadways.” 

Every year Gwinnett transportation employees document roads in need of resurfacing. With nearly 2,700 centerline miles of roadway, it takes close to 30 months for staff members to assess pavement conditions on all the county-maintained roads. That pavement data is used to identify the roads in most need of resurfacing. Gwinnett will resurface just over 108 centerline miles of roadway this year.

The $28 million contract is funded 75 percent by the County’s 2017 SPLOST program and 25 percent by the Georgia Department of Transportation. Transportation staffers say resurfacing studies and their own experience have shown that maintaining the roadway pavements helps reduce costs over time. Funds spent on resurfacing cut down on spending to patch or completely rebuild a roadway.

NOTABLE

County buys new vehicles for Paratransit and Microtransit

The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners have approved the purchase of 14 paratransit and microtransit vehicles off a state contract with funding assistance from the Federal Transit Administration. The $2.3 million purchase is being made through a competitively-procured Georgia Department of Administrative Services contract and is funded 80 percent by the FTA, with a local 20 percent match coming from the County’s transit funds.

Gwinnett County Transit’s paratransit service is a shared-ride program that provides curb-to-curb service to eligible persons with disabilities. This service is complementary within three-quarters of a mile of Gwinnett County’s local fixed-route service. The new vehicles will be used to provide paratransit service to support GCT’s three new local route expansions in late 2022 or early 2023.

Microtransit operates using paratransit type vehicles to provide on-demand, door-to-door transit service in lower-density suburban areas where riders access real-time service using an app. From fall 2018 to spring 2019, GCT piloted  a micro transit program in the Snellville area. The success of the pilot led to the purchase of these vehicles in anticipation of the return of micro transit service to Snellville in early 2023.

Gwinnett County Transit provides commuter express, local and complementary paratransit service. For more information on transit service in Gwinnett, visit Gwinnett County Transit’s webpage.

Five students win DAR Good Citizen awards

The 2021-2022 DAR Good Citizen Awards were presented recently by the Philadelphia Winn Chapter Daughters of the American (DAR) Revolution Good Citizen Committee Chair, Cheryl Hall. Each DAR Good Citizen Award recipient was presented with a monetary gift, a DAR pin, an award certificate, a recognition wallet card, and a custom yard sign. The students receiving the DAR Good Citizen Awards were given the opportunity to enter the DAR Scholarship Essay Contest.

The winners include: 

• 

  Tart

  

  Hodge

  

  Shurney

  Kristin Shurney, from Discovery High School, plans on attending Georgia Tech and studying Environmental Engineering. Kristin was also the essay contest winner, receiving an additional monetary gift, with her essay moving on to the district level of 

• Ashille Hodge, from Central Gwinnett High School, plans to attend Georgia State University and study in Audio Visual Communications.

• Randal Tart, Jr., from Gwinnett School of Math, Science, and Technology (GSMST), plans on attending Georgia Tech and studying Biomedical Engineering. 

• 

  deMayo

  

  Rabelo

  Abigail Rabelo, from Killian Hill Christian School, plans to attend Georgia State University and earn a degree in Nursing.

• Maymie deMayo, Providence Christian Academy, has not decided on which college she will attend but plans on studying business and hopes to own her own business one day. 

Foundation grants $90,000 to five Gwinnett nonprofits

The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded $90,000 in grants during its February meeting, including $90,000 to agencies serving Gwinnett County.

• $20,000 to Hi-Hope Service Center, Inc., in Lawrenceville, to help fund part-time nursing and nutrition services for 20 developmentally disabled Gwinnett residents.

• $20,000 to North Gwinnett Cooperative., for its Prescription Assistance Program, which covers the cost of non-narcotic/controlled substance prescriptions for senior citizens and families who qualify for assistance.

• $15,000 to Gwinnett-Walton Habitat for Humanity, to provide interior trim and doors, cabinets, vanities, HVAC unit and flooring for house #153 in Gwinnett County.

• $15,000 to Lawrenceville Cooperative, an emergency food bank for residents of Lawrenceville and Dacula in Gwinnett County.

• $10,000 to Asian American Resource Foundation, in Duluth, providing supportive services to members of the community in need, for its Rapid Re-Housing Program.

• $10,000 to Vision to Learn, to provide free vision screenings, eye exams and prescription glasses for K-12 students in need in Gwinnett County schools.
• Have a comment?  Send to: elliott@brack.net