In a 4-3 vote, the Johns Creek City Council fell short of a two-thirds majority to override Mayor Mike Bodker’s veto of a Concept Plan Phase study to widen Jones Bridge Road.
A measure authorizing the $200,000 study was passed by the council on Nov. 26. Bodker, however, vetoed it because it called for consideration of a three-lane/center-turn-lane alternative to the original plan to widen Jones Bridge to four lanes from Waters to State Bridge roads.
The four-lane plan was presented to voters before they approved the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax in November 2016. The three-lane concept reverses voters’ wishes, Bodker said in a prepared statement, and staff analysis “clearly shows the three-lane option will not relieve congestion on Jones Bridge Road.”
Bodker also cited a Dec. 3 courtesy review by the Georgia attorney general’s office, which he said confirmed his understanding of the law – that the city had to stick with the original plan for the project, as proposed to voters in the referendum.
“Any failure of making these capacity improvements to Jones Bridge Road compromises other road projects in the city that need congestion improvement on Jones Bridge to function efficiently,” Bodker said.
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