* 6-laning Hwy. 74 S. may start this year

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Fayette | News

6-laning Hwy. 74 S. may start this year

Tue, 03/28/2006 - 6:27pm

By: John Munford

The Georgia Department of Transportation plans to let bids in May for the first phase of widening Ga. Highway 74 in Peachtree City to six lanes.

Once completed, Hwy. 74 will have six lanes between Hwy. 54 and Crosstown Road, which the DOT said was necessary due to current daily traffic volume in the area, City Engineer David Borkowski said.

South of Crosstown Road, there will be four lanes of traffic with raised medians.

The briefing was part of the City Council’s retreat Friday afternoon.

The first phase of the project will extend from the intersection of Ga. Highway 54 to the FAA Tracon building near Cooper Circle.

The second phase will pick up from there and head southbound to the intersection of Ga. Highway 85, which will be realigned with Padgett Road, said Borkowski.

The start of construction on the first phase will depend on which bid is selected but it could begin this year. Officials plan for the second phase construction to begin in 2008.

Also included in the first phase is the construction of a cart path tunnel underneath the highway at the intersection of Paschall Road. The DOT will pay for 80 percent of the cost, with the remainder being picked up by the city including the separate right of way acquisition and connections to the path system.

Borkowski said funds from the county’s transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax would be used to pay for the project.

The DOT is also planning to install three different sound walls along the highway to buffer residential areas, but Borkowski was not familiar with the material the walls would be built from.

One of the sound walls will be installed between the highway and several homes off Wildwood Court in the Clover Reach subdivision. Another sound wall will be built between Kelly Drive and Willow Road. The third sound wall will be built from Willow Point extending northward into the city-owned greenbelt.

DOT is working on the right of way acquisition for the first phase currently, Borkowski said.

City Manager Bernie McMullen noted that the city learned in a recent meeting that the Atlanta Regional Commission had programmed Hwy. 74 as a four-lane highway but the DOT made the decision to go to six lanes between Hwy. 54 and Crosstown Road.

“All I said was, ‘Don’t delay the start regardless,’” said Mayor Harold Logsdon.

Sound walls, OMG, tell me it ain't so!

Submitted by SandySue on Wed, 03/29/2006 - 8:28am.

Do we have to build sound walls? Is there no other solution? I am not by any stretch of anyone's imagination an expert in this, but what I do know is I do not like the looks of sound walls. Next thing we will have bill boards along 74 south. Is there no other solution?
Come on PTC council build up a natural sound barrier, I hope that is what is meant when they say sound walls.
But since he mentions "materials", it does not sound like natural sound walls.

sound walls

Submitted by questionable101 on Thu, 03/30/2006 - 6:31pm.

Do you live where the sound walls are being proposed? If not, then you really shouldn't weigh in on the discussion since you are NOT affected by the noise levels of traffic 24/7. The walls are literally that, walls to buffer sound that no amount of vegatation would stop. They are all over the place in Atlanta. Also, what do sound barriers have to do with billboards? Let's not muddy the waters with two things that have no bearing on each other.

6 lanes?

Submitted by ms on Wed, 03/29/2006 - 7:50am.

Yet another reason people will soon be (and some already are) leaving PTC in droves. This town is no longer the managable community of the past. We are fast becoming Stockbridge-West.

74 widened to Crosstown will be a nice change

Submitted by McDonoughDawg on Wed, 03/29/2006 - 9:15pm.

This area of 74 just crawls. I live off of Fisher's Luck, and this would be welcome to me. Surely not going to make me want to leave PTC. I don't understand the "sky is falling" mentality. This needs to be done mainly because of growth in Brooks and Coweta County. Frankly, I'll be happy to have the extra lanes and the bridge for Carts under 74.

As far as Sound Barriers, I'm sure they can be built in such a way as to not be so obtrusive visually.

Well no, not really

Submitted by mudcat on Thu, 03/30/2006 - 6:26am.

The sound barriers are 10 feet tall - sometimes more depending upon the terrain and are metal and vinyl - usually painted a grey green color. Look at the ones on 74 north on the west side near the cart path bridge. Then drive into Cedar Croft (if you can find it) and listen to how well they work and how pretty they will be in your back yard.

If that's the worst you can say

Submitted by McDonoughDawg on Thu, 03/30/2006 - 9:39am.

I don't know how to please you. The road is a State Highway that needs to be widened. I would think folks would at least wait and see exactly what they have planned before they start complaining.

Yes, I know where Cedar Croft is, and I've seen the wall. It's not all that obtrusive in my opinion. I would think the residents of Cedar Croft would be better qualified to answer the question though, on the usefullness of the wall. I'm positive they reduce sound somewhat. I moved from an area of Morrow years ago, they built the same type walls along I-75, and it made the neighborhood quieter for sure.

Ok, dawg

Submitted by mudcat on Thu, 03/30/2006 - 7:47pm.

I am happy you checked it out. Yes, this will be better than Morrow. Sorry I was being overprotective of you. Good luck with the wall.
meow

Steve Brown is gone and Harold is the man!