Nearly $7 million for the Acworth Downtown Improvement Project has been authorized by the city’s Board of Aldermen.

Astra Group Inc. of Woodstock will be paid $6,618,499 but no more than $7 million to construct this project that should be completed by fall 2018.

This price includes $116,499 for water and sewer work to be reimbursed from Cobb Water and Sewer.

Also, the aldermen agreed to pay up to $300,000 for a construction agreement with CSX Transportation Inc. for its work within the rights-of-way for the Lemon Street Realignment Downtown Project.

In an Aug. 10 email to the AJC, Acworth City Manager Brian M. Bulthuis said this downtown project is a realignment of Lemon and Cherokee Streets “where we are converting Lemon into a two-way street from one-way and realigning it, taking it straight down to Taylor Street (our new Logan Farm Park that we opened last year).”

“Where the one-way Lemon Street intersected with Cherokee Street, we will be installing a traffic circle” and a pedestrian overpass over the railroad tracks with additional public parking, he said.