GDOT Launches Study Of Truck Bypass From SR 15 To U.S. 441

Oconee GA

31 August, 2021

12:16 AM

Description

The Georgia Department of Transportation is launching a "scoping study" of a truck route from SR 15 south of Watkinsville to somewhere along U.S. 441. The scoping study is the first step in beginning the project, which has been discussed but is not currently part of active road plans for the county. The Transportation Department's interest in the truck route surfaced on Wednesday at the Technical Coordinating Committee of MACORTS, the federally mandated metropolitan planning organization serving Oconee, Clarke, and Madison counties. Federal funding will be used on the project, GDOT has indicated, requiring MACORTS to add the project to its transportation planning documents before any work can begin. The Technical Coordinating Committee recommended the addition of the project to its 2021-2024 Transportation Improvement Program and its Metropolitan Transportation Plan. The MACORTS Policy Committee will meet virtually at 10 a.m. on Sept. 8 to take final action on the Department of Transportation request and schedule public hearings, including one from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sept. 30 at Oconee Veterans Park. Also at the MACORTS meeting last week, Sharon Thelen, president of the Dials Mill Plantation Property Owners Association, told the members of the Technical Coordinating Committee that she and her neighbors are concerned about plans for an interchange at Dials Mill Road and SR 316. Thelen said there is not adequate space for a full interchange as proposed given the proximity of the neighborhood. For more on this story, with a video of the MACORTS meeting, please go to Oconee County Observations.