Friday, May 4, 2001
Friday, May 4, 2001 |
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State DOT approves use of through on Hwy 54, paving the way for Wal-Mart in Peachtree City By JOHN MUNFORD The way has been paved for a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Peachtree City now that the state Department of Transportation has approved the addition of a "through lane" to Ga. Highway 54 West near the store's future location. Marion Waters, the DOT's state traffic engineer, said Wednesday that the plans submitted by the city were approved by top DOT officials with only technical changes. Remaining intact is a plan to keep westbound traffic constantly flowing through the intersection of Hwy. 54 and Huddleston Road by adding a third lane for traffic. That lane would be separated from another westbound lane by a concrete barrier that would allow traffic from Huddleston Road to travel west on Hwy. 54. Eventually, those two lanes will merge into one lane. Doug McMurrain of RAM Development, which owns the Wal-Mart/Home Depot site, said the traffic improvement elements will be completed in the first 90 days of breaking ground sometime in June. The improvements will help current peak traffic problems in the area, McMurrain said, adding that the idea for the through lane came from the city's traffic engineers. The stores will hopefully open this time next year since it takes about 9-12 months for construction and there's a good bit of site prep work to be done, McMurrain added. Also included next to the through lane will be a dedicated turn lane that will lead into the Wal-Mart/Home Depot shopping center that is planned by RAM Development. Waters had indicated two weeks ago that it was likely the through lane would be shortened to keep with policies developed for meeting air quality standards in metro Atlanta. But the through lane proposal brought by the city was unchanged. "If it changes the (air quality) model, it jeopardizes regional funding," because it would violate the Clean Air Act, Waters said Wednesday. "But we want to do what's right and just try to be very, very careful." RAM plans to build other freestanding stores on the northern side of Hwy. 54 West, but the company is working with a local task force to consider architectural standards and other options for those developments. There is also a possibility that RAM could acquire the Line Creek Baptist Church on Hwy. 54 just west of the railroad bridge for use as a possible commercial site. The City Council approved the concept plan for the Wal-Mart back in November after the Planning Commission recommend denial based largely on concerns that the store couldn't meet the city's traffic ordinance. At that council meeting, Mayor Bob Lenox announced that the city's traffic engineers along with RAM's traffic engineers had devised a plan that would meet the traffic ordinance by using the through lane concept. Council members Annie McMenamin and Dan Tennant voted against approval of the Wal-Mart concept plan at that meeting. The traffic ordinance requires traffic studies for all new developments in the Hwy. 54 West corridor. Once a model is devised to include the new development, the level of traffic must not worsen, using national traffic standards that grade traffic quality on a scale of A through F. An "A" level of service is considered the best while an "F" is considered the worst. Currently, the traffic on Hwy. 54 is rated a "D" which is one step away from an "F". If the new development degrades the traffic quality, the developers must pay for traffic improvements to maintain the current level of traffic. In addition to the through lane and turn lanes, RAM will also add another lane to Hwy. 74 south of the intersection with Hwy. 54 so traffic will have more time to merge into one southbound lane on Hwy. 74. Traffic control on Hwy. 54 West is rapidly changing anyway, especially now that a traffic light has been installed between Hwy. 74 and the railroad bridge for The Avenue at Peachtree City shopping center. Also in the near future, the traffic light currently at the intersection of Wynnmeade Parkway and Hwy. 54 will be moved further east to the intersection of MacDuff Parkway.
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