The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) on Monday opened up for bid a project aimed at improving safety along the GA 365 corridor in Habersham County.
GDOT is accepting bids now through August 21 for the construction of a Restricted U-Turn (RCUT) on GA 365 at Mt. Zion Road.
The project was fast-tracked two weeks ago by local lawmakers following the deaths of five people at that crossover. The project falls under GDOT’s Quick Response Project program, which allows spending of up to $200,000 per project.
State officials estimated the cost of the RCUT at around $400,000. They said it could be broken into two projects to complete the island and u-turn that are needed to prevent traffic from crossing over four lanes of the highway.
GDOT engineers first proposed installing an RCUT at that intersection 17 months ago following the deaths of a 5-year-old Alto boy and his aunt. The calls for safety measures reached a crescendo after the wreck on July 16 that killed five people. That crash claimed the lives of two Atlanta-area men and a Dahlonega mother and her two children.
