Graphic above shows current and future work (in brown and green) to add a new look and a pedestrian-friendly flavor to a portion of Fayetteville’s historic district, including the area along Ga. Highway 85 between Stonewall Avenue and north beyond Lanier Avenue and between Lanier and Tiger Trail. Graphic provided by the city of Fayetteville.

There is a new look coming to a portion of Fayetteville’s historic district.

Currently underway with completion expected in December, the “Lanier Avenue and Highway 85 Streetscape” project will provide pedestrian-friendly accents to Lanier and along Ga. Highway 85 from Stonewall Avenue and extending north of Lanier.

Aside from the obvious aesthetics, the streetscape project will link the amphitheater and The Villages to the downtown square, said City Engineer Don Easterbrook.

The impetus for the streetscape work now under way began several years ago under a Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) project. When completed, the streetscape project will add 8-foot brick pavers, benches, a bicycle lane and curbside trees and street lights along Lanier from Hwy. 85 to Tiger Trail, the addition of a median just north of Lanier on Hwy. 85 and improvements to the sidewalk and crossing areas on Hwy. 85 between Lanier and Stonewall, said Easterbrook.

The total project cost is $1 million, with 80 percent of the funds coming from federal money and the remaining 20 percent from local SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) funds, said Easterbrook.

Currently the most visible portion of the project can be seen along the south side of Lanier Avenue between Hwy. 85 and Tiger Trail, where a noticeable alteration is being made to the curbside and the left lane primarily used for left turn traffic.

Once completed, the redesigned streetscape will include an 8-foot brick paver sidewalk and a 4-foot landscaped strip between the sidewalk and the roadway. Along both sides of the sidewalk will be crepe myrtles spaced 50 feet apart with historic-looking pedestrian street lights spaced between the trees, Easterbrook said.

Also lining the south side of the street will be benches and trash receptacles conducive to pedestrian activities. On the north side of Lanier, project plans call for installation of a four-foot bicycle lane.

Next up on the project will be those improvements affecting the area on Hwy. 85 just north of Lanier and along Hwy. 85 between Lanier and Stonewall.

The most prominent feature north of Lanier will be the installation of a median island between Dunkin’ Donuts and the existing median.

With the rationale of helping identify the downtown area and to make it aesthetically pleasing, the median will be landscaped with Asiatic jasmine and holly or similar plants. The project also calls for brick pavers to be installed along the west side of the roadway.

Plans for the one-block section of Hwy. 85 between Lanier and Stonewall calls for installing brick pavers in the crosswalks at both intersections and along the sidewalk on the west side of the street.

Also on the west side, curbs will be enlarged and the sidewalk will be enlarged near Stonewall in the area where parking is already prohibited.

Project work along Hwy. 85 might necessitate the temporary closure of a lane during low-traffic periods, Easterbrook said.