Henry County approves SPLOST V project list

Henry County SPLOST V cover slide
Henry County SPLOST V cover slide

The project list presented in this article was based on a six year program. The Board of Commissioners chose to pursue a five year program after the county and cities failed to agree to an intergovernmental agreement. As of August 17, the final project list is not available.

The Henry County Board of Commissioners approved this week the county’s project list for the upcoming SPLOST V referendum. If approved by voters this November, the SPLOST V program is estimated to collect $245 million dollars over a six year period.

SPLOST stands for Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax. SPLOST funds are required to be spent on capital investments and may not be used for maintenance or operating costs. First passed by Henry County voters in 1996, three subsequent programs have been approved. The current program, SPLOST IV, was passed by voters in 2013 and collections end on March 31, 2020. If SPLOST V is approved, there will be no disruption to SPLOST collections within Henry County and the sales tax rate will remain at seven percent.

Henry County is estimated to receive 75% of the collections, or $183,750,000, for use on capital improvement projects. The four cities would then split the remaining 25% based on population. The board of commissioners and four city councils have a joint meeting on Thursday, June 27, at 6 pm at the county office to discuss SPLOST V projects and the intergovernmental agreement covering the distribution of funds.

An overall summary of the SPLOST V project list is below. Individual projects are listed beneath the overall summary.

This information does not reflect the final project list and should not be referenced by voters as they prepare for the November referendum.

CategoryCostPercentage
County Facilities$27,696,00015.07%
Public Safety$19,500,00010.61%
Program Management$4,000,0002.18%
District Capital Projects$23,150,06312.60%
Major Transportation Projects$63,621,25734.62%
Intersections & Signalization$12,254,6706.67%
Dirt Road Projects$14,544,1767.92%
Path Improvements$210,8000.11%
Sidewalks$1,280,3350.70%
Roadway Maintenance$17,492,6999.52%
Total$183,750,000100%

The board of commissioners have adopted $51,196,000 worth in county wide projects. The projects include the following:

ProjectEstimated Cost
County Facilities:
Jail Pod Addition$10 million
Fleet Replacement Program$17.696 million
Sub Total:$27.696 million
Public Safety:
Ola Police Precinct / New Fire Station #17$4.5 million
Fairview Police Precinct / Fire Station #6 rebuild$6 million
Fire Station #5 rebuild (Hampton)$3 million
District II Police Precinct$1.5 million
District IV Police Precinct / New Fire Station #18$4.5 million
Sub Total:$19.5 million
Program Management$4 million
Total:$51,196,000

The remaining funds ($132,554,000) are divided among the five commission districts for district specific projects. Each commission district has a project budget of $26,510,800.

This information does not reflect the final project list and should not be referenced by voters as they prepare for the November referendum.

The projects listed below are grouped by category. To view the list broken down by each district, visit the county website.

Capital Projects

DistrictProjectEstimated Cost
IINash Farm Master Plan$4,291,315
IIRecreation Center$6,000,000
IIIPark Improvements$1,525,624
IIIHeritage Senior Center / Park Improvements$1,100,000
IVNew Park & Park Upgrades$8,733,124
VHidden Valley Upgrades$500,000
VCochran Park Upgrades$500,000
VVillage Park Upgrades$500,000
Total:$23,150,063

Major Transportation Projects

District(s)ProjectEstimated Cost
I / IIISR 81 widening – Phase I1$8,027,5542
I / IIISR 81 widening – Phase II3$400,0002
IMcDonough Parkway4$3,908,969
ISouth Ola Road extension$3,183,528
IIDistrictwide funding$4,676,206
III / IVEast Lake Road improvements5 6$400,0002
IIIMcDonough Parkway4$8,000,000
IIIAirline Road extension5 7$300,000
IIISnapping Shoals Road improvements5 8$825,000
IVRock Quarry Road widening1$11,750,000
VFairview Road widening9$14,500,000
VWest Village Parkway widening10$7,150,000
VClark Drive improvements5 11$500,000
Total:$63,621,257

Intersections & Signalization

District(s)ProjectEstimated Cost
IBill Gardner Pkwy at Lester Mill Road5$250,000
IPeeksville Road at Leguin Mill Rd5$250,000
IPeeksville Road at Old Jackson Rd5$250,000
I / IIIRacetrack Road at Iris Lake Rd$1,250,00012
IMcDonough Pkwy at Henry Pkwy5$250,000
IIDistrictwide funding$2,065,000
III / IVEast Lake Road at Elliott Rd5$250,0002
III / IVEast Lake Road at Airline Rd$2,559,6702
III / IVEast Lake Road at Rowan Dr5$250,0002
IIIWillow Lane at Bridges Rd$2,065,000
IIISR 20 at Turner Church Rd$2,065,000
IIINorth Ola Road at Snapping Shoals Rd5$250,000
IIISR 81 at Upchurch Rd5$250,000
IIIAirline Road at McGarity Rd5$250,000
Total:$12,254,670

Dirt Road Projects

DistrictProjectEstimated Cost
IPeeksville Road (Bridge to Old Jackson)$4,087,676
ICardell Drive (Leguin Mill to S Ola)5$250,000
IBurg Road (Peeksville to Butts County)$4,054,000
IEllistown Road (Peeksville to Moccasin Gap)5$175,000
ISandy Ridge Road (Keys Ferry to Stallsworth)5$110,000
IIDistrictwide funding$5,867,500
Total:$14,544,176

Path Improvements

DistrictProjectEstimated Cost
VFairview Path to Panola Mountain$210,800
Total:$210,800

Sidewalks

DistrictProjectBudgeted Funds
ISidewalks$250,000
IISidewalks$250,000
IIISidewalks$280,335
VSidewalks$500,000
Total:$1,280,335

Resurfacing, Surface Treatment, and Widening

DistrictProjectBudgeted Funds
IRoadway Maintenance$4,652,850
IIRoadway Maintenance$3,360,779
IIIRoadway Maintenance$3,031,229
IVRoadway Maintenance$4,297,841
VRoadway Maintenance$2,150,000
Total:$17,492,699
  1. Federal funds and SPLOST IV dollars have funded preliminary engineering to widen state route 81 between Postmaster Drive and Bethany Road, and widen Rock Quarry Road between SR 138 and Eagles Landing Parkway. SPLOST V is budgeting the requisite twenty percent local match to receive federal funds for right of way acquisition and construction.
  2. The project costs are shared 50% / 50% between two districts. The amount shown is the total estimated cost.
  3. SPLOST V is budgeting the requisite twenty percent local match to receive federal funds to design a future widening of state route 81 between Bethany Road and Keys Ferry Road. Right of way acquisition and construction will depend on the availability of funds.
  4. SPLOST IV has funded preliminary engineering and right of way acquisition for two segments of the McDonough Parkway: Henry Parkway to SR 20 / 81 (southwest segment) and US 23 / SR 42 to SR 155 (north segment). SPLOST V is budgeting the cost of construction.
  5. SPLOST V is budgeting the cost of preliminary engineering only. Right of way acquisition and construction will depend on the availability of funds.
  6. East Lake Road improvements will evaluate the corridor between SR 155 and Airline Road & design future arterial upgrades.
  7. Airline Road extension will extend Airline Road between Rodgers Road and state route 81. Once complete, Airline Road will connect to Old Jackson Road to provide increased north-south connectivity throughout Henry County.
  8. Snapping Shoals Road improvements will evaluate the corridor between North Ola Road and River Road & design future arterial upgrades.
  9. Fairview Road will be widened between Panola Road and Patillo Road. Previous SPLOST projects have widened the roadway west of Panola Road.
  10. SPLOST IV has funded preliminary engineering and right of way acquisition to widen West Village Parkway between Fairview Road and the Clayton County line. SPLOST V is budgeting the cost of construction.
  11. Clark Drive improvements will evaluate the corridor & design future arterial upgrades.
  12. Racetrack Road at Iris Lake Road intersection improvements are being cost-shared by district I, district III, and the city of McDonough. The amount shown is the cost contributed to by Henry County.

About Clayton 1745 Articles
Clayton Carte is the founder and owner of The Henry Reporter. He founded the site in 2017 to highlight transportation projects. Over time, he began covering other topics like new development so residents can best know what’s happening in our community.

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