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Dr. Bramblett gets facelift
Roadwork may take until fall
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Juanita Price, left, talks with Genie Waters at Guy’s Biscuit Barn. The business likely will be affected by the roadwork on Dr. Bramblett. - photo by Jim Dean
Many folks stop in for breakfast at Guy’s Biscuit Barn before going to work.

Soon, though, the vehicles outside will be moving slower as construction along Dr. Bramblett Road moves south.

So far, crews have completed work on the northern-most mile of the road, from Hwy. 369 to the bridge, county spokeswoman Jodi Gardner said.

The full stretch of the 4.5-mile road, ending at Hwy. 20, will also be repaved and the lanes widened by two feet.

On the other side of Guy’s, Spot Road soon will have a left turn lane and a signal at the intersection.

All the roadwork is being done during the day, with a pilot car leading traffic through lane closures, Gardner said.

“The contractor works hard to keep the maximum delay under 10 minutes,” she said.

Juanita Price was surprised to see traffic stopped on Dr. Bramblett as she made her way to the eatery this week.

“If I’d known about it, I would have turned out and gone the other way,” she said. “But after I got through it, I saw the part that needed fixing.”

Price, who lives near the worn-out road, said the project is welcomed.

Paul Hall agreed that improving Dr. Bramblett was a good use of funding.

“There’s a lot of traffic through here,” he said while waiting on a bacon biscuit.

According to the county’s engineering department, the project will correct block cracking, pot holes and oxidation and raveling in the existing pavement.

County commissioners approved the work, which is being paid for by 1-cent sales tax funding, in June.

The project is being handled by Blount Construction for about $1.35 million.

Roadwork is anticipated to be completed by Sept. 28, Gardner said.

“The county is hopeful to have all work completed by the end of August at the current construction rate,” she said.

But installing the Spot Road signal could carry over into September, Gardner said.

In November, a 45-year-old woman was killed when she turned left off Spot Road into the path of a northbound school bus on Doc Bramblett Road.

The county also plans to do a study of traffic at the crossing of Dr. Bramblett and nearby Spot Road Connector.

Until school starts, the traffic volumes aren’t high enough to warrant a signal, Gardner said.

In about two weeks, however, that traffic likely will pick up as students travel to Sawnee Elementary off the Connector.