The City of Hinesville is getting closer to adding to its water capacity.
Council members agreed to award bids for a well and well house to be built in Long County’s “ green zone” and for the 18-inch transmission line to carry the water to Hinesville.
“One of the most significant things we have done is to ensure our growth. And we need water,” said Hinesville City Manager Kenneth Howard.
With Hinesville and Liberty County in what the state Environmental Protection Division considers a “yellow zone,” meaning its groundwater withdrawal capacity is capped, Hinesville approached Long County, a “green zone” county with uncapped capacity, about a well that could serve both the city and the county.
Discussions began three years ago and the city and the county entered into an agreement for the well. The state EPD approved the well permit in October.
Once finished, the well is expected to add 1 million gallons of water per day to the city’s capacity. The city is currently permitted for 4 million gallons per day and is using about 3.7 million gallons per day.
City engineer Paul Simonton estimated work on the well could start in March and it could be pumping water as early as August or September 2025.
The well will have a pump capable of 2,000 gallons per minute and an 18-inch water transmission line from the well, on a one-acre tract in the Barrington Hall subdivision, to the city’s water system at Barry McCaffrey Boulevard. The total cost of the project, about $6.4 million, is being paid for by impact fees and proceeds from the American Rescue Plan Act.
The city has another significant water-sewer plan in the works, Howard said, a $20 million upgrade of its water reclamation facility. The upgrade is expected to expand the facility’s capacity from 2 million gallons per day to 4 million gallons of day.
The city will put the project out to bid in spring 2025 and hopes to start work in the summer. The project is pegged to take about two years.
“We are preparing for its growth because we know we are going to continue to experience exponential growth,” Howard said.
Road work
Also on tap for the city are road improvement projects to address ever-growing traffic. The city will put out to bid this summer putting in traffic circles on South Main Street at Hendry Street and also at Ryon Avenue, replacing the traffic signal at South Main and Hendry and the stop sign at South Main and Ryon. The project is estimated to cost about $5.8 million and will take roughly 400 days to complete once work begins, Howard said. The city also is planning on a traffic circle at Ralph Quarterman Drive and South Main Street and expanding the intersection at Veterans Parkway and South Main and Charles Frasier Boulevard.
Drivers on South Main crossing Veterans Parkway will have two lanes of Charles Frasier Boulevard, with one lane tapering off until there is only one lane approaching Ralph Quarterman.
The stretch of Veterans Parkway headed toward Highway 196 is getting a right-turn only lane and a left-turn only lane, giving it four lanes as it approaches the South Main/ Charles Frasier intersection. Charles Fraiser Boulevard, approaching Veterans Parkway, will have three lanes, with a leftturn only lane and a rightturn only lane.
“You will see progress through next summer,” Howard said.
There also will be a new traffic signal on Veterans Parkway at the entrances to Walmart and Lowe’s. The city, the companies and the trustees of the Michael Bryant estate agreed to take part in financing the signal, which will cost $3 million.
“That was a major winwin for the city,” Howard said. “That didn’t happen overnight. We think it will be beneficial to those entities and to the city.”
Providing affordable housing
Howard, who got his start in community development, pointed to the construction of new housing for low-to-moderate income families in the Azalea Street neighborhood and discussed a new project in the works.
The city has received a $1.1 million grant from the OneGeorgia Authority to build 31 townhomes in partnership with a developer. The homes will be built on land between Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Ashmore, Court and Welborn streets.
The city is contributing more than $591,000 to the project and the developer is contributing $420,000 in land acquisition. There also will be street, drainage and water and sewer improvements.
“This is something near and dear to my heart,” Howard said of housing opportunities. “One of the things we realized is we need to provide opportunities to those who fall in a category that are LMI families. These housing opportunities will provide them an opportunity to achieve the American “Edream.”
Changes to transit system
The city’s transit system is becoming more and more popular, gaining more riders each year, Howard noted. The city is taking operation of the transit system in house beginning December 30, ending its contract with a third-party provider.
“Every five years we have to look at how we provide transit services,” Howard said. “Significant changes that are occurring in our transit system. Our fare free pilot program was expanded and we have seen triple digit growth and that’s what we want — we want our citizens to use our services.”
The city also has amended its operating hours. Non-productive hours — routes starting at 5:30 a.m. that had little or no riders — were scratched for weekend hours.
“That allowed us to expand our service to the weekend,” Howard said.
Improvements to bus stops and shelters are planned for 2025, and the city is starting to look at a transit center, Howard added.
And more changes and growth for the city are in the offing, Howard continued. The city has annexed close to 2,000 acres of the tract known as Hack’s Pasture on the city’s eastern edge.
Buildout of the development will take about 20 to 25 years, and it is expected to add between 6,000 and 8,000 residents to the city once finished. Plans also call for a 27acre parcel in the middle of the tract to be served for city services.
The annexation also grew the city’s land mass by 16%.
“This is a significant project,” Howard said. “We are very excited about that.”