09/30/2021
Investigative Report on Oxbo Realignment Project
In early February 2021, I initiated an investigation into the delays and issues the City was experiencing with the Oxbo Road Realignment project. The investigation was conducted by Jarrard & Davis, LLP, and took seven months to complete. The investigation was very thorough, including thousands of pages of documents and interviews with past and present staff and elected officials. The scope of the investigation dated back 15 years to 2006 when city leaders first began discussing and taking action on improving the intersection. I promised the citizens of Roswell that I would share the report with them when I received it, and am standing by my promise. The report is located here: https://www.roswellgov.com/government/mayor
Mayor and Council were aware there were issues with the Oxbo Realignment project because of delays in construction. However, I was surprised and disappointed to learn in the report of the extent of the issues with this project, particularly with the right-of-way acquisition. The City’s own policies and procedures, best practices and state statutes either were not followed or were outright ignored when acquiring the right-of-way needed for the project.
Mayor and Council relied on the staff overseeing this aspect of the project to do their due diligence, but it is extremely evident in reading the report that they did not. Mayor and Council hold our staff to very high standards, and it is unacceptable that these staff members, some of whom are no longer with the City, failed to meet those standards.
Further, the report provides a number of recommendations that the City will be implementing immediately. I want to assure our citizens that the issues outlined in this report will never happen again. We will be looking at everything including process, procedures and personnel. My goal is to have the best staff and resources available to assure the success of current and future city transportation projects. I will be meeting weekly with council and the appropriate staff concerning implementing changes that are needed so what is outlined in this report never happens again. I will also be updating our citizens on a regular basis concerning the corrective action we will be taking.
I also want to assure our residents that work is moving forward on the Oxbo Realignment project, the goal of which is to eliminate the staggered intersection at SR9/SR 120/Atlanta Street and to convert Oxbo Drive into a two-way street between Mimosa Boulevard and Atlanta Street. In addition, the project also provides new turning lanes, adds a traffic signal, and extends Elm Street to the intersection of Oxbo Road and Pleasant Hill Street.
If you have driven by the project lately, you will notice that construction is underway. The project is expected to be completed in fall 2022.
