DOT dumps red arrows at major intersection
Heads up to the folks fighting the widening of Highway 44 through Greene and Putnam Counties: The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) can change its mind.
On Thursday, Feb. 9, GDOT crews replaced the traffic signals at Highway 44 (Lake Oconee Parkway) and Linger Longer Road, one of Greene County’s busiest intersections.
New traffic light fixtures, with red arrows, were added to prevent cars from making left turns from Highway 44 onto Linger Longer Road when oncoming traffic has a green light, even if no cars are coming.
Also, changes in timing for traffic from the CVS spur and Linger Longer Drive turning onto Highway 44 created long backups. Complaints on the Social Media app Nextdoor and angry phone calls sounded alarms at the DOT offices in Atlanta.
One motorist posted on Nextdoor while sitting in a line by CVS. “I’ve never seen so many cars trying to go thru there … apparently are trying to avoid the backup at the light on 44 by going the back way. The left turn green light/arrows onto 44 North are exactly the same as the left turn into Linger Longer. Short and Ugly.”
”It is so awful and makes me dread going out for errands,” was another comment on Nextdoor.
Late Tuesday, GDOT responded by changing the lights and timing virtually back to where they were. Before the switch, there was no arrow and motorists could decide to make the turn from Highway 44 to Linger Longer if they thought it was safe.
Now the red arrows are replaced by a flashing yellow arrow designed to caution the driver to think twice before turning left.
GDOT spokesman Jason Nichols says the initial changes were made for safety reasons based on new data.
“There is a number of accidents where it becomes applicable to make the change,” Nichols told the Lake Oconee News. “We had just over that number in the last two years. We made the change. There were issues. We restored it back, and we’re constantly monitoring and looking for the best way to handle the traffic flow there.”
Nichols could not provide the Lake Oconee News with the specific number of accidents reported in the data.
This week, changes were also made to the lights about a block away at the Highway 44 intersection with Merchant Street. GDOT officials say they have received no complaints about traffic flow at that lesser-used crossing.
The Highway 44 and Linger Longer intersection is where GDOT plans to construct a roundabout to replace the signals as part of its decades-old plan to four-lane highway 44 from just north of I-20 in Greene County to Harmony Road in Putnam County.
It was pressure from local residents that convinced GDOT to add the roundabout. A local citizens group, Save Our 44, is continuing its effort to pressure GDOT into replacing all intersections that currently have traffic signals with roundabouts.