The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has just posted an official design for the much discussed and frequently feared roundabout to be constructed at the intersection of Highway 44/Lake Oconee Parkway and Linger Longer Road.
It will replace the current traffic signals at the major intersection cornered by BankSouth, Wells Fargo and the CVS drug store.
The roundabout comes after decades of discussions, and public and political pressure over plans to widen Hwy 44 from two to four lanes. The entire 10.7-mile project will run from Harmony/Old Phoenix Road in Putnam County to just north of Interstate 20 in Greene County.
A 2018 GDOT traffic study showed an average of 11,000 to 15,900 cars and trucks use the road each day, which is considered unacceptable by DOT, especially considering population growth forecasts.
A local opposition group formed in 2019 called SaveMy44 voiced strong support for creating roundabouts to replace traffic lights along the busy 4.9-mile commercial stretch from Harmony/Old Phoenix to Carey Station Roads. They pushed for roundabouts at those two intersections as well as Linger Longer Road and Merchant Street in Greene County and Scott Road in Putnam County.
The group maintains that roundabouts would slow and control traffic better than traffic lights.
Last year, after a public comment period, GDOT agreed to change its plan to include one roundabout at Linger Longer and Hwy 44.
Since that time, it’s been a hot topic on local social media with many having a vision of unfamiliar motorists trying to negotiate the continuous flow, merging and lane changes required while driving in a circle. In fact, there is already a smaller roundabout 100 yards away from the intersection, next to CVS, that many drivers don’t use properly.
As recently as this month, stories of successful and problem roundabouts have been posted and discussed on Nextdoor without any specific picture of what is coming.
“One can only imagine one to two lanes approaching from all directions and merging with 18-wheelers,” said one post. “It is a waste of time and money,” says another. “As a 30-plus year semi-truck driver, I also agree that most folks driving nowadays have no clue how to approach a (roundabout) AKA traffic circle.”
“Traffic circles are being successfully used extensively in other countries and increasingly in the US,” said one supporter. “The entire world has embraced the safe and efficient traffic circles/ roundabouts,” said another. “I think the residents can handle it.”
And then there was this, “Demolition Derby. Should put in stands on each corner along with an insurance adjuster.”
GDOT’s revised drawings are only for the Harmony/Old Phoenix to Linger Longer portion of the project. The designs for the remainder of the project have not been updated since 2019.
The roundabout and a traffic light that was added at Scott Road appear to be the only major changes. A layman’s review of the maps by LON appears to show that minor modifications, such as right of ways, drainage, water lines and crosswalks are also noted in the new plans. Greg Hawkins, co-owner of the Silver Moon restaurant and one of the leaders of the SaveMy44 group, says that despite the addition of the roundabout, they are still fighting for more changes.
“They (DOT) have a chance to make this a showcase for the state of Georgia,” he told Lake Oconee News on Monday. “We’re in the process of meeting with government officials and attorneys and we’re actually going to get all the property owners along the road for a meeting to understand what their position is.”
Ginger Ryser, also co-owner of Silver Moon and a leader of the opposition group, says there’s another big problem. DOT’s plan to build extensive medians in the road will require their customers to make U-turns to get to the restaurant and many businesses along Hwy 44 will have the same problem.
“Our goal is to get a complete redesign on a 25-year-old plan,” she said. “While we’re not demanding our plans, there are certainly a lot of healthy suggestions for a plan that would be looking forward 20 years instead of back 20 years.”
Currently, there are no physical medians along the road so motorists can enter and exit businesses easily if the traffic cooperates. The group prefers wide center turning lanes instead of medians. Hawkins says that even the three-year construction plan will hurt businesses.
“We don’t need to have three years of one-lane construction,” he said. “Most of the people on 44 right now, won’t be in business. And the biggest tax dollar producer for Putnam County is this road from Harmony to the lake. It’s a big deal.”
GDOT has said there will be no more chances for feedback. But, Kyle Collins, spokesman for GDOT, told Lake Oconee News that the new design plans might not be the final plans.
Right of way (ROW) negotiations with the owners of some 210 parcels of land are currently underway and, as a result, Collins said other changes may be required.
“The layouts are not meant to be an exact representation of the final project,” Collins said.“The layouts are general for public viewing.”
The schedule for the $150 million widening project is a moving target. It was last estimated to begin construction in 2024 but public pressure and politics might result in further delays.
In the meantime, the updated design plans are available on the DOT website at www. dot.ga.gov. Information about the SaveMy44 group can be found at www.SaveMy44.com.