Decatur, GA — Pavement markings will be installed on Commerce Drive, between Clairemont Avenue and Church Street, this week in Decatur. The restriping effort will restore traffic service to all previous lanes.
However, this will be a temporary measure until a major repair and repaving project on Commerce Drive and Church Street begins in mid-August, according to a city website. The restriping work may take up to 60 days.
Church Street and Commerce Drive are set to be milled and resurfaced, and that work is expected to take about six to eight weeks to complete once the construction begins.
The paving project follows the work the city has done to add the cycle track on Church Street and Commerce Drive. The cycle track portion of the project has been completed.
Throughout the project, the city has looked carefully at the condition of Church Street.
“Church Street has not been resurfaced since it was originally built,” Capital Projects Manager Hugh Saxon previously said. “It was widened from a two-lane to a four-lane street about 40 years ago. Now, we’re narrowing it back down to two lanes. It has not been repaved in that period, and it is in very poor condition. There are a lot of cracks. Our engineering staff thinks it’s at the end of its service life.”
Church Street will go through significant repair, with patching and resurfacing from Commerce Drive to Forkner Drive. The work will require deep milling and repaving in limited sections so that the repair area is drivable at the end of each day. New permanent pavement markings and signs will be installed throughout the entire project area when the paving is finished.
The Georgia Department of Transportation has provided 80% of the funding for this project.
Saxon said this will be a significant and long-lasting improvement to the road.
“The alternative would be minor repairs and resurfacing, and the cracks start showing up again in a year. This is about a 20-year life on a repair like we’re proposing,” Saxon said.
Commerce Drive, between Clairemont and Church, will be five lanes once the milling, repaving, and striping are complete. The lanes will be narrowed from about 13 feet to 10 feet as the cycle track has been added on both sides of the street.
Southbound on Clairemont Avenue, the two left turn lanes will remain and there will be a right turn lane, although it is no longer a slip lane. One left lane is currently closed and will be reopened once Commerce Drive is repaved.
“It becomes a shorter distance. You don’t have to cross the slip lane to cross the street,” Saxon said. “This will require a stop.”
While the repairs and resurfacing are underway, portions of the street will remain rough and uneven. Drivers are encouraged to drive slowly and carefully and be mindful of roadway conditions, pedestrians, work crews, and contractors.
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