SMYRNA, Georgia — Smyrna city officials signed off on a nearly $2.6 million agreement with Marietta-based Croy Engineering for professional services to complete the engineering phase of a project to improve South Cobb Drive.
Smyrna officials previously entered into a framework agreement with the Cobb County Department of Transportation to administer the plan development process until the city attained its locally administered project certification. The city has now attained that certification and will start administering the project directly with the commencement of the preliminary design phase of the Georgia Department of Transportation.
The agreement the council approved on Monday is to complete the tasks that have not been started under the Cobb County Department of Transportation oversight phase. These funds are part of the 2022 SPLOST project list.
“This is exciting to get … the project started with South Cobb Drive between Concord and Windy Hill, which will be a transformational project,” Smyrna Mayor Derek Norton said during a Monday city council meeting.
During his 2023 State of the City address, Norton said the initial South Cobb Drive concept is based on a study of the corridor the city completed in 2017. It includes additional travel lanes, local access lanes, landscape medians, additional traffic signals, pocket parks, and bicycle and pedestrian trails.
Construction was expected to start by the end of the year or early next year.
“We think this will attract significant redevelopment interest,” Norton said in July 2023. “Our hope is that the end result will be a vibrant corridor for years to come with additional recreational, housing, retail and dining options.”