Wednesday, November 15, 2000
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Wednesday, November 15, 2000 |
| Realignment may
ease McDonough Road bottleneck
By DAVE
HAMRICK
It's hoped that a right turn lane and realignment of the intersection will help break the logjam of traffic that has developed at McDonough Road and County Line Road west of Fayetteville. County commissioners last week voted unanimously to authorize public works director Lee Hearn to build a right turn lane for motorists turning onto County Line from McDonough, and also to move forward with alignment of McElroy Road and County Line. McElroy forms a "T" intersection with McDonough, a few dozen feet east of where County Line forms a "T." Recent installment of a three-way stop at McDonough and County Line has traffic on McDonough backed up to Ga. Highway 54 in afternoon rush hour, and it takes eight to ten minutes to navigate through the intersection. After handling a flurry of phone calls, commissioners earlier discussed doing away with the stop sign. "We may have created a problem rather than solved a problem," said Commissioner Glen Gosa. But Hearn suggested that motorists entering McDonough from McElroy Road and then turning right onto County Line Road might be causing a lot of the backup. Aligning the two roads would allow traffic to go straight across, alleviating the problem, he said. Commissioners last week agreed to try that solution. Earlier, they also voted to send a letter to the state Department of Transportation, urging quick action for a proposed traffic light at the intersection. A new traffic light also will soon appear at Ga. Highway 314 and New Hope Road and, when it does, it will be tied into a new fiber optic system designed to improve traffic flow in and around Fayetteville. County commissioners last week agreed to spend $15,000 to erect the light and $6,468 to link it with 14 other traffic signals on Ga. highways 85 and 54. Synchronization of the lights is expected to move traffic better and allow easier pedestrian crossings on Fayetteville's Courthouse Square. Commissioners also agreed to pay $11,900 toward the study and programming of the original 14 lights. Commissioner Linda Wells voted against the expenditures in a 4-1 decision.
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