The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority has inquired about why the widening of McIntosh Trail in unincorporated Coweta County was included in funding plans prioritized by the Atlanta Regional Commission.

The project would widen McIntosh Trail from two to four lanes between Ga. Highway 54 and its current terminus to the south. McIntosh Trail, of course, is where developer Tom Reese plans to build a 3,100 home subdivision with other commercial and office development — the project called McIntosh Village.

A possible link to Ga. Highway 74 in Peachtree City via TDK Boulevard was recently halted by the Peachtree City Council, leaving McIntosh Trail as the crucial road artery to move traffic in and out of McIntosh Village.

In its comments on the project, ARC indicated the road widening of McIntosh Trail “is Coweta County’s highest non-interstate priority,” and the surrounding area in Coweta “is an emerging growth area and will continue to see growth over the next 20 years.”

GRTA is interested in finding out how the McIntosh Trail project and others were considered by ARC for which projects qualify for funding and which don’t. The state is experiencing a multi-million dollar shortfall for road construction projects and the possibility of levying a regional transportation sales tax to fund projects has been bandied about by the state legislature.

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