Georgia

[Tom958]

Nine miles of State Route 77 will be rebuilt and widened between Madison and Elbert Counties at a cost of $47.8 million. The project is being executed by a Snellville company and is expected to be done by December 2017.

http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2015-01-01/gdot-widen-sr77-madison-elbert-counties

GA 77 doesn't go to Madison County, and looks like a useless road to widen even by Georgia standards. They must mean GA 72.

[Gnutella]

Nine miles of State Route 77 will be rebuilt and widened between Madison and Elbert Counties at a cost of $47.8 million. The project is being executed by a Snellville company and is expected to be done by December 2017.

http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2015-01-01/gdot-widen-sr77-madison-elbert-counties

Sounds to me like GA 72 will eventually be a four-lane arterial highway from Athens all the way to Elberton.

[Gnutella]

By the way, does anybody know of any news that involves widening U.S. 129 between Athens and Macon? I've heard thins periodically, but nothing for about two years now. I hope they get around to widening it soon.

[2Co5_14]

By the way, does anybody know of any news that involves widening U.S. 129 between Athens and Macon? I've heard thins periodically, but nothing for about two years now. I hope they get around to widening it soon.

I was actually working on some of the design for the widening of US 129/441 between Madison and Eatonton.  At the present time, that portion is scheduled to be let to construction in 2019 (they are currently in the right-of-way acquisition phase).

To find more specific info on the individual project segments along the corridor, go to the following link:
http://www.dot.ga.gov/informationcenter/maps/geotraqs/Pages/default.aspx
From there select the county you're interested in to zoom in the map. Then click on a highlighted roadway segment to get the project ID number and associated project info.

[lordsutch]

By the way, does anybody know of any news that involves widening U.S. 129 between Athens and Macon? I've heard thins periodically, but nothing for about two years now. I hope they get around to widening it soon.

There have been public hearings on widening the Eatonton to Gray section of US 129/GA 44; the info is on the GDOT website under public hearings. The four-lane divided Gray bypass is now under construction (the plans don't show relocating US 129 onto it, or even moving GA 22, though), and of course 129 is four lanes already from Macon to Gray.

[Gnutella]

By the way, does anybody know of any news that involves widening U.S. 129 between Athens and Macon? I've heard thins periodically, but nothing for about two years now. I hope they get around to widening it soon.

There have been public hearings on widening the Eatonton to Gray section of US 129/GA 44; the info is on the GDOT website under public hearings. The four-lane divided Gray bypass is now under construction (the plans don't show relocating US 129 onto it, or even moving GA 22, though), and of course 129 is four lanes already from Macon to Gray.

I'm assuming that the Gray bypass will pass to the west of town, correct?

The railroad through the center of town creates a big mess in terms of traffic flow, so the bypass is certainly good news for long-distance travelers.

[Gnutella]

By the way, does anybody know of any news that involves widening U.S. 129 between Athens and Macon? I've heard thins periodically, but nothing for about two years now. I hope they get around to widening it soon.

I was actually working on some of the design for the widening of US 129/441 between Madison and Eatonton.  At the present time, that portion is scheduled to be let to construction in 2019 (they are currently in the right-of-way acquisition phase).

To find more specific info on the individual project segments along the corridor, go to the following link:
http://www.dot.ga.gov/informationcenter/maps/geotraqs/Pages/default.aspx
From there select the county you're interested in to zoom in the map. Then click on a highlighted roadway segment to get the project ID number and associated project info.

Looks like all the information scrolls horizontally, which is kind of awkward. I'll tinker around with it and see if I can figure it out.

[Tom958]

...it might become the Fall Line (Not) Freeway...

I just call it the Fall Line Four Lane. It's more accurate and doubly alliterative. 

[lordsutch]

I'm assuming that the Gray bypass will pass to the west of town, correct?

The railroad through the center of town creates a big mess in terms of traffic flow, so the bypass is certainly good news for long-distance travelers.

It loops around the north side, from US 129/GA 11/GA 22 west (intersecting around where GA 18 west comes in now) to GA 22 east, including an overpass over the railroad line at GA 11 north.

[brownpelican]

Sounds to me like GA 72 will eventually be a four-lane arterial highway from Athens all the way to Elberton.

And extend that four lane on 72 to the South Carolina line, where SC 72 is four lanes from Calhoun Falls to outside Greenwood.

[afone]

The completion of the four- and six-lane Ga. 347 in South Hall County by this time next year will mark the opening of one of Hall's few east-west traffic arteries – and maybe its last major one for years to come.

Work is well underway to widen Ga. 347 between Interstate 985 and Ga. 211/Old Winder Highway in Braselton, with heavy equipment and crews out in force up and down the busy stretch.

When done, it will mesh with the newly widened Ga. 347 between I-985 and McEver Road in West Hall, a project that was finished last year.

http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/section/6/article/107129/

[Gnutella]

Work on the new Peter Street/Olympic Drive interchange on the Athens Perimeter is almost finished. Here are some pictures I took last week...


"Outer" (northbound) off-ramp



Construction crew at work on the "inner" (southbound) side


Giant rock embedded in the "outer" embankment


A good look at the height of the "outer" embankment


Looking west under the underpass toward Peter Street


"Outer" (northbound) on-ramp


Looking east under the underpass toward Olympic Drive


Electronic sign with an important announcement



Looking up the "inner" (southbound) ramps



As you can see, the interchange is a hybrid, with a diamond setup on the "outer" (northbound) side, and a partial cloverleaf setup on the "inner" (southbound) side. Right now on the "inner" Perimeter, the off-ramp is carrying traffic in both directions, though that's about to change. The only thing that needs to happen now is for lines to be painted on the on-ramp and repainted on the off-ramp, and for Peter Street and Olympic Drive to be resurfaced within the interchange.

[freebrickproductions]

That's some messed-up striping there!

[adventurernumber1]

That's some messed-up striping there!

I agree with this 

And (referring to the electronic signs) South Bound isn't that disgusting is it  (I kid, I kid)

But nice pics! Thank you for sharing them!

[Tom958]

That's some messed-up striping there!

I agree with this 

IMO, crappy-looking construction zone striping provides another clue that it's a construction zone, which is why it doesn't bother me. Much.

But nice pics! Thank you for sharing them!

Indeed. Thanks!

It looks like "Trail Creek Street" is toast, at least on the ITP side and presumably much truncated on the other. My guess that their use as access to the mainline might be permanent was wrong. Streetview is amazingly recent there, BTW.

Oh, in utterly unrelated news, I'm now allowed to drive and to work part time, with restrictions. It'll be easier to spot and photograph whatever pathetic items my part of Georgia can offer.

[Gnutella]

"Trail Creek Street" was just a temporary road between the Athens Perimeter and Peter Street/Olympic Drive while building the Perimeter overpasses. And it's outside the Perimeter (toward Olympic Drive) where it no longer exists. By tomorrow it'll cease to exist inside the Perimeter (toward Peter Street) once they open the "inner" (southbound) on-ramp and re-stripe the off-ramp.

Speaking of striping, I never complain about it in construction zones because it's all temporary. If it looks jagged after they've put all the asphalt down, then I'll complain, but until then, as long as it looks vaguely like a road, I'm fine with it. It's better than trying to delineate lanes with a bunch of tiny reflective stickers that are hard to see.

One other note: I saw a GDOT notice sign posted on the Athens Perimeter near the bridges between Oconee Street/Lexington Road and College Station Road. I'll have to see what that's about. Also, is anybody else in favor of reconfiguring the Old Hull Road/U.S. 29 interchanges so the Perimeter doesn't have to exit itself? I think that'd be a worthwhile project.

[afone]

It looks like officials in Macon want to extend the runway of the Middle Georgia Regional Airport. If this project is done, it would require a runway bridge over the Avondale Mill/Sardis Church Road extension.
http://www.macon.com/2015/01/19/3540029/officials-macon-runway-expansion.html

[Tom958]

Anybody know where in Georgia this is? https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=13274.175

EDIT: Lordsutch got it! 

[afone]

The Bobby Jones EXPWY widening is finally done...

State Transportation Board of Georgia Chairman Don Grantham says they did complete the $33 million lane expansion and interchange project on Bobby Jones Expressway from Gordon Highway extending just east of Deans Bridge Road. The total project length was 4.7 miles.

http://www.wrdw.com/home/headlines/33-million-I-520-lane-expansion-and-interchange-complete-289444131.html

[afone]

http://www.wfxl.com/news/story.aspx?id=1153492#.VMLuWkfF-So

[Tom958]

http://www.wfxl.com/news/story.aspx?id=1153492#.VMLuWkfF-So

Google maps link

Doesn't seem like much of an improvement over what was there before.

Semi-interestingly, there was originally a loop ramp for westbound 520 to southbound 91, and it still shows up on the 2007 historic aerial. I never understood why that loop ramp was built in the first place, and now it's gone.

While we're in the Albany area, check out this sign: it includes a Marine Corps emblem as kind of a route marker. If I ever go that way again I'll try to get a photo.

[ATLRedSoxFan]

I've driven through there several times, from when my parents lived in Thomasville. One of the few remaining sign bridges with lighting in Georgia.Especially middle South Georgia.

[afone]

A new exit on GA 400
http://www.forsythnews.com/section/2/article/26626/

[afone]

Legislation to be introduced into the House on Thursday calls for replacing the various components that make up the state gasoline tax with a straight excise tax of 29.2 cents per gallon, a figure based on the average in combined state and local sales and excise taxes Georgians have been paying at the pump during the last four years.
The bill also would levy an annual fee on electric-, propane- and natural gas-powered vehicles — but not hybrids — of $300 for commercial vehicles and $200 for non-commercial vehicles. The revenue from the alternative-vehicle fee — a projected $7.5 million during the first year the fee is collected — plus an additional $100 million in bond financing would pay for transit projects, an unprecedented investment in transit by a state that has long been known to favor asphalt over buses and trains.
"I've personally had a change of heart," said Rep. Jay Roberts, R-Ocilla, chairman of the House Transportation Committee. "We're the hub of the Southeast and are growing. We need to make transit a priority."

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/capitol_vision/2015/01/georgia-house-leaders-unveil-transportation.html

[Tom958]

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/capitol_vision/2015/01/georgia-house-leaders-unveil-transportation.html

"Republican leaders in the Georgia House of Representatives said Wednesday they've figured out a way to raise more than $1 billion a year in additional transportation funding without raising taxes."