Completion date slated for Oct. 2008

Work on the widening of Ga. Highway 74 in Peachtree City — from Ga. Highway 54 to south of Crosstown Drive — may begin as early as Monday according to state transportation officials.

The road will be widened to six lanes, three in both directions, with sound buffering walls in a few select locations along residential areas close to the road, according to the project plans. The $18.4 million project will be conducted by C.W. Matthews company, which bought original bid winner APAC, according to DOT District 3 spokesperson Barry Hancock.

Now that right-of-way is in hand, the first step in the construction phase of the project is debris removal and clearing of the site, Hancock said.

The project is due to be completed by Oct. 3, 2008. The contract to build a second phase, which would pick up at the southern terminus of this project and extend all the way to Ga. Highway 85, will be let in December of next year. State transportation planners have already set aside $17 million for the second phase including right-of-way purchasing and construction costs.

Another $1.37 million will also be spent to build a new wider road bridge over Flat Creek as part of that project. Also included in the second phase is the realignment of Rockaway Road, a main commuter traffic artery in and out of fast-growing Senoia, so it will link up with the existing traffic light on Hwy. 74 at Holly Grove Road at one of the entrances to the Wilshire Pavilion shopping center.