GAINESVILLE—The Gainesville City Council is moving forward with the approval of funding to install a left-turn lane from Downey Boulevard onto Vine Street, near Northeast Georgia Medical Center.
The city is providing a 30% match—totaling $63,000—to a Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) of $210,000 from the Georgia Department of Transportation.
"We don't anticipate construction being nearly that much," said Matt Tarver, Senior Civil Engineer with the Gainesville Public Works Department.
The plan is to demolish the median and install the turning lane, allowing traffic to flow from Downey onto Vine, which would also open up left turn access from Vine onto Downey. (See picture at left.)
Currently there isn't a traffic light at the intersection, and Tarver said there aren't any plans for one at the moment.
Councilman Georgia Wangemann asked Tarver at the Thursday morning council work session if this would make the intersection less safe for motorists. Tarver said it could "potentially," but there were certainly no guarantees.
The council will consider the motion's final approval at their next meeting Tuesday, November 17 at 5:30 p.m. at the Gainesville Justice Center on Queen City Parkway.
