Dougherty County will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Radium Springs Memorial and renovation on Tuesday, January 22, 2019, beginning at 10 a.m. just inside of the entrance of the Radium Springs Garden area.

By utilizing 12-foot tall, white columns, the Radium Springs Memorial will commemorate the five lives lost during the storms of 2017. The names will be carved out of steel and wrapped around the column to represent materials ripped apart from homes during the storm. Designed by Ron Huffman, senior principal of Wheeler Environment and Infrastructure Solutions, the memo-rial will also bring renovations to the gazebo at the gardens damaged during the storm.

“The natural disasters of 2017 and the recent impact of Hurricane Michael have brought massive devastation to Dougherty County,” said Chris Cohilas, Chair of the Dougherty County Board of Commissioners. “We are honored to break ground on our Radium Springs renovation to memori-alize the lives lost during the storms and to help rebuild life for many in that area.”

In addition to the Memorial Wall, a special presentation will be made at the ceremony of the $500,000 grant Dougherty County received from the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank (GTIB) to help in funding the reconstruction of Skywater and Azalea Boulevard, as well as part of Camella Road.

Additional funding needed beyond the grant will be derived from SPLOST V funds and work will be completed by Oxford Construction.

“SRTA is proud to partner with Dougherty County to provide critical funding for the Rebuilding Radium Springs project,” said Chris Tomlinson, SRTA Executive Director. “Radium Springs is known as the crown jewel of the community and we hope that with this grant, the necessary in-frastructure changes will be made to help with the rehabilitation of the area.”

The grant received from GTIB last year is earmarked to improve safety, reduce wear and tear caused by potholes, as well as repair damaged and eroded portions of the roadway. The project will reconstruct the existing, storm-damaged roadway with a 31-foot-wide curb and gutter road for approximately one mile through a residential area. It will cover approximately 6,000 feet of roadway, which includes Azalea and Skywater Blvd. A complete street, including bike lanes and sidewalks, will be built as part of the project.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank on this project,” said Chris Cohilas, Chair of the Dougherty County Board of Commission-ers. “This grant will allow us to renovate road damage from the storms and with the addition of bike lanes and sidewalks to the community, this will greatly enhance the quality of life for resi-dents.”

The Radium Springs Memorial construction is expected to be completed in approximately two months, while the rebuilding construction will take a while longer to complete. An official rib-bon cutting will be scheduled once both projects are completed.