Judging by the long list of projects local and state transportation officials outlined at this past Thursday's Annual Transportation Forum in Hall County, there will be no shortage of roadwork going on in North Georgia for the next several years.
The forum is sponsored each year by the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce, and once again, local stakeholders filled an auditorium on the Gainesville campus of the University of North Georgia to hear about upcoming projects, current construction and solutions to traffic gridlock in the booming region.
INTERSTATE EXPANSION
Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) Commissioner Russell McMurry promised ongoing construction on both I-985 and I-85 in the region; both interstates impact Hall County travel.
Currently, express lanes are under construction on I-85 in the North Gwinnett area.
"Now, you see the construction going on from 985 up to Hamilton Mill Road- that's for an express lane," McMurry said. "But, guess what? There's an additional free lane in that, too, that most people don't know about, so there will be six lanes - three lanes in each direction that are free and an express lane in each direction, as well."
McMurry told the audience that when fall rolls around, construction on additional lanes will begin for the stretch of I-85 from Hamilton Mill to Braselton. Eventually, I-85 will be expanded to six lanes up to US 129. McMurry said that won't be a reality for another four to five years, however.
CLEVELAND HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION
Chances are commuters along Cleveland Highway (US 129) north of Gainesville have noticed the beginnings of construction.
GDOT District 1 Engineer Brent Cook said while trees are being cleared on the side of the road around Longstreet Bridge, it will be another couple of years before actual roadwork gets underway.
"We're nearing completion of the design," Cook said. "We've got right-of-way acquisition scheduled to begin in the fall. It's about 178 parcels, so it's a fair amount of right of way that we have to acquire. Right now, the construction is [set to start] in 2020."
Cook said additional lanes - with a raised median - will be added to 5.4 miles of Cleveland Highway from Limestone Parkway to Nopone Road.
ROUNDABOUTS AND TRAFFIC STUDIES
Traffic roundabouts were first introduced in America in 1907 in California, but more than 100 years later, the concept is easing traffic congestion in Hall County and other parts of North Georgia.
Srikanth Yamala, the Planning Director for Hall County Government, updated forum attendees on the success of a roundabout installed at Sardis and Ledan Roads in the northwest corner of the county in the fall of 2017. He said more of the traffic configurations are on the way.
"Looks like it's definitely the season for roundabouts and the flavor of the day is roundabouts in Hall County," Yamala said.
As traffic engineers look to solve traffic gridlock on Gainesville's busy Green Street, there's a plan to build roundabouts at either end of the street.
"One roundabout will be at EE Butler and Academy Street and once you go north toward the Civic Center, you're looking at another four-way roundabout," Yamala said.
Should that plan come to fruition, the roundabouts would be the first for the city of Gainesville.
Yamala also discussed long-term traffic studies being conducted for two areas: a citywide study in Oakwood and a study of the Dawsonville Highway-McEver Road area. He said both of those studies should provide answers to traffic dilemmas for those spots.
At the same time, Yamala credited GDOT for completing several so-called 'quick fix' projects to give quicker relief to the crowded roadways.
