Cobb County Commissioners will be asked Tuesday night to approve a conceptual design for the pedestrian bridge over Interstate 285, connecting SunTrust Park with the Galleria.
But the public still won’t t know the total cost of the bridge for a while longer.
The county has said for about 18 months that bridge construction would cost $6 million to $9 million. But The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in May that estimate is for construction costs only and does not include expenses such as purchasing right-of-way or moving utilities. It also does not include the $804,000 the county is paying for the bridge design and engineering. Aspects of the bridge construction — such as roadwork, curbs, sidewalks, drainage, testing and signs — could drive the price even higher.
At least two experts interviewed by the AJC for that story expressed doubt that the bridge could be constructed for $9 million.
Faye DiMassimo, director of Cobb DOT, told commissioners during a work session Monday that they need to approve the bridge concept “so we can continue forward, through final design.”
“In the process of getting a bridge built, you’ve got to go do an assessment … award a contract to come up with preliminary design. That is where we are at,” Commission Chairman Tim Lee said at Monday’s meeting. “Once the preliminary design is agreed, in form and function, then you take that to the engineers.”
Other county business on the agenda for Tuesday night’s meeting, commissioners are expected to approve changes to the county’s ethics ordinance.
But one proposed change is being changed back.
The Cobb County Board of Ethics initially suggested removing language from the ethics ordinance that says commissioners should “avoid the appearance of impropriety.” The ethics board is now recommending that that phrase remain in the ordinance.
Lynn Rainey, attorney for the ethics board, said the language was put back because removing it “just seemed to me would be perceived as weakening the code.”
Rainey told the AJC previously that the changes were made after Tim Lee’s hearing last year, alleging Lee overstepped his authority by hiring an outside attorney to negotiate a preliminary agreement with the Braves in secret.
The complaint, based largely on AJC reporting, alleged that Dan McRae, a partner with the Seyfarth Shaw firm, was promised subsequent legal work in exchange for negotiating the preliminary agreement with the Braves. The newspaper found that McRae performed months of legal work without charging the county. The complaint was eventually dropped after Lee apologized.
Lee said in Monday’s meeting that he supports the changes.
“We, as a board, should always be for the best and most clear ethics program we can possibly have,” he said.
