Wednesday, December 25, 2002
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Wednesday, December 25, 2002 |
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'Massive transformation' for PTC Decorative street lamps, cloverleaf cart path exchange, sidewalks in Westside plan By JOHN MUNFORD
When all is said and done with the widening of Ga. Highway 54 West in Peachtree City to four lanes, the project will look a little snazzier than your typical four-lane road. Officials from Peachtree City and the Georgia Department of Transportation have worked together to incorporate several design elements not normally associated with similar road widening projects. The city plans to use decorative lighting on the new bridge over the CSX railroad track in addition to decorative lighting and decorative railing on the bridge itself, said City Planner David Rast. Although there is no funding yet for the lighting, the city has applied for grants and Cooper Lighting which is headquartered in Peachtree City is assisting with the lighting design to serve as a showcase for what it can do for clients, Rast said. "I think it's just going to be a massive transformation for the west side," Rast said, explaining that the goal of much of the area's design is to get people out of their cars. There are also plans but no money yet for installing decorative signal poles for all the traffic signals in the corridor, Rast said. "We normally do not include those types of enhancements," said Mike Davidson, design group manager for the DOT. A new cart path bridge spanning the railroad line will be built adjacent to the new highway bridge. A cloverleaf design path will lead to the bridge, allowing carts and other path users to cross the railroad tracks safely. The DOT is funding the culverts underneath the roadway for that project. Even the sidewalks along the highway will be a little out of the DOT's normal specifications. The south side of the highway will have the typical five foot wide sidewalk located two feet off the end of the highway's curb, the sidewalk on the north side will actually be a cart path located further off the roadway, Rast said. That project is being funded by the city and must meet guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Davidson added. The cart path and sidewalks will connect with the signalized crosswalks the DOT will install, Rast said. Another cart path will be between the commercial developments planned on the north side of Hwy. 54 and the Summit Apartments. That path will go under MacDuff Parkway to link up the Wynnmeade subdivision, Rast noted. It will also lead toward another cart path bridge the city plans to have crossing over Hwy. 54 near the entrance to Wynnmeade. The city hopes to have that bridge installed as the road is widened; a $600,000 grant has already been approved for the project. The road widening plan also includes replacing the road bridges over the railroad and Line Creek. "I think it's really going to look good once it all gets completed," Davidson said. "It will be an asset to the city." Earlier this year, the Department of Transportation sped up the time frame for widening Hwy. 54 to four lanes by approximately six months. Bids for the project will be let in June, but the actual start date for the work won't be known until a contractor is selected, according to DOT officials. The project is estimated to take between two and two and a half years. The widening project begins at the intersection of hwys. 54 and 74 and ends in Coweta County near Hwy. 154. DOT officials have been working on right-of-way acquisition for the project, with approximately 30 percent of the right-of-way in hand for the side of the project that includes Peachtree City; acquisition of right-of-way for the Sharpsburg side is approximately 70 percent complete.
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