With a potential transportation SPLOST in talks and wrecks on GA-365 happening regularly, the roadways in Habersham County are on the minds of many.
Tuesday night, in a presentation organized by Partnership Habersham and the Habersham Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Department of Transportation presented information and updates, as well as fielded questions and concerns from governing officials.
“The purpose of [GDOT] being here tonight is to be proactive whether than reactive,” Partnership Habersham Executive Director Charlie Fiveash said of discussing transportation projects and concerns regarding county-wide growth.
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The meeting was held specifically for leaders from the county, county municipalities and county organizations. Representatives from the Habersham County government, the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office, Baldwin, Cornelia, Clarkesville and Mt. Airy were in attendance. Rep. Victor Anderson was also in attendance.
“I think at GDOT, we’re all extremely amenable to what Habersham needs to grow, and how we can partner with you in that,” GDOT District One Preconstruction Engineer SueAnne Decker said. “My goal is to make all $2.2 billion dollars of GDOT’s budget spent right here in District One. This is where I live, this is where I work, this is where my kids are— I want a safe and efficient transportation system, one that serves our community, one that serves our economics.”
Decker and GDOT District Traffic Engineer Jason Dykes discussed possible future projects on 365 that address adding infrastructure in places on the state route where fatal wrecks have occurred, like at Mt. Zion Road. GDOT brought up adding a reduced conflict u-turn (RCUT), which is a curb that would change how u-turns are made on 365. There is currently one in place outside of Jaemor Farms in Alto.
The GDOT representatives also went over plans for new road infrastructure in the county, which will cost a total of $75 million for bridges, detour routes and roundabouts in Clarkesville and Demorest.
County government and municipal government officials brought citizen concerns, as well as their own, forward to Decker and Dykes. Many of those concerns surrounded adding further infrastructure and looking for solutions to keep 365 safer, especially with the Northeast Georgia region continuing to grow and an inland port coming to Hall County.
“I love the vision that everyone has, that you can see this [growth] is coming,” Decker said. “How are we proactive, how do we get ahead of it, how do we work together to fix these problems that we all know are coming?”
Baldwin Councilwoman Alice Venter brought a citizen concern forward regarding the two accidents that happened on Feb. 18 at the Duncan Bridge Road intersection of 365. She told GDOT that citizens had shared that there wasn’t enough time for larger trucks to fully slow down by the time they reached the red light. After hearing that concern, GDOT says they will look into adding flashing stoplight warning signs ahead of the Duncan Bridge Road intersection.
Habersham County Commissioner Dustin Mealor asked GDOT to look into the legalities of potentially using Transportation SPLOST (TSPLOST) funds to invest in projects to increase traffic safety on 365. The commission opened a discussion on possibly reintroducing the TSPLOST to the community for a vote, with the tax focusing specifically on roads and bridges in the county.
“My thought is if we can allocate some of these funds to Duncan Bridge Road and Demorest-Mt. Airy [Highway], it [TSPLOST] will pass,” Mealor said.
GDOT says they’ll look further into those possibilities, and Decker promised not to leave Habersham out of the loop when it comes to finding solutions to the issues governing officials brought to the table.
