Repairs begin 2 years after deadly tornadoes hit South Georgia

ALBANY, Ga. – Construction crews have begun more than $2 million in repairs in a southwest Georgia community two years after a deadly tornado outbreak caused heavy damage.

WALB-TV reported repair work finally started on roads, sidewalks and a park in the Radium Springs community just outside Albany. The damage was inflicted by tornadoes that devastated the area on Jan. 22, 2017.

The tornadoes killed 16 people in southwest Georgia and caused an estimated $2 billion in damage.

Chucky Mathis, the assistant public works director for Dougherty County, says contractor Oxford Construction is performing the repairs with $2 million funded by special local option sales taxes. Officials said the Radium Springs repairs got delayed when two landowners refused to sell property the county needed for the project.

“We’re glad to know we’re finally going to get some things done in the Radium Springs area that need to be done,” Mathis told WALB.

The project is expected to take several months to complete.

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Devastation from the extreme weather that tore through central Georgia down to North Florida