Sidewalk work set to begin

The first steps in building a public sidewalk along Cox and Gibbs roads are under way, county officials say, with construction slated to begin in the area of Evans High School by the end of the year.

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Scott Herring, Columbia County's director of construction and maintenance services, said designs for a sidewalk in front of Evans High are nearly complete.

"We are finalizing the design for the sidewalk, which will run from Belair (Road) to Byrd (Road)," he said. "We anticipate construction to begin in late 2007."

Herring said he could not provide a timeline for construction, but typically a sidewalk of that type should take three to four months to build.

The Cox Road sidewalk project is part of planned road improvements along the Owens, Cox and Gibbs roads corridor. Last year, voters approved a nearly $44 million bond issuance to fund Capital Improvements Projects, including more than $1.6 million for the Owens, Cox and Gibbs corridor.

Portions of that money will fund designs to widen to three lanes the loop from Owens Road at Washington Road to Gibbs Road at Washington Road. The project calls for the rest of the money to fund sidewalks near Evans High and along Gibbs Road from Hereford Farm Road to Washington Road.

Herring said the investment in designs will work as seed money to lure state funding to complete the road construction. The county is currently finalizing a contract for design of the Gibbs Road widening and sidewalk.

He said no construction schedule for the Gibbs Road project has been set.