Morgan Falls Road May Get Temporary Makeover Before Real Construction Starts

Morgan Falls Road improvements are expected to begin by the fall. In the meantime, the bumpy road could be temporarily smoothed out.

“Wouldn’t it be worthwhile to throw two inches of asphalt on the road,” asked Councilwoman Dianne Fries, during Tuesday’s City Council meeting. “We just need to smooth it out some.”

Sandy Springs was awarded $500,000 for the Morgan Falls Road Project through a Transportation Enhancement Grant from the Georgia Department of Transportation. On Tuesday, Council members approved a $60,000 expenditure for design fees to complete multi-use plans for the road.

Improvements to the road will follow enhancements at the entrance to Morgan Falls Overlook Park. Council members approved a beautification wall leading up to the park, signage and a rain garden to send purified rainwater into the Chattahoochee River.

“We’re widening [Morgan Falls] road and channelizing the flow of water,” said Garrin Coleman, Capital Program Manager for Public Works. “We have to collect that water and treat it before it passes to the river.”

Work is expected to begin by fall and will take a year to complete, Coleman said.

Bike lanes will be removed from the road and 10-foot wide multi-use lanes will be added, which will also reduce the impervious footprint, Coleman added.

If the road is smoothed out in the near future, it will be demolished before the project is complete to rebuild the street.