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Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2009

Residents near Riverside may have convinced DOT to modify plans for I-75 project

The Georgia Department of Transportation said Monday it has changed plans for an Interstate 75 reconstruction project to do away with right-turn-only restrictions at Lee Road, giving a victory to residents who had organized opposition to the proposal.

“We’ve heard the community’s concerns about Lee Road, and we’re going back and looking at the plans,” said DOT spokeswoman Crystal Paulk-Buchanan. “We are listening to the community, and we understand their concerns.”

Because of the road’s proximity to the proposed new on- and off-ramps for I-75 South traffic, plans had included installing a raised, concrete triangle at Lee Road’s intersection with Riverside Drive to restrict left-hand turns. Now plans call for the triangle to be removed and Riverside to be re-striped in hopes of making the left-hand turns on and off Lee Road less of a safety concern, Paulk-Buchanon said.

“If in the future it becomes a situation, it may have to go in for safety purposes,” she said.

Residents have complained that the limited access could cause inconvenience for homeowners and businesses but also for emergency personnel trying to get into the neighborhood.

H. Lee Johnson Jr., who lives and runs a business on Lee Road, launched a Web site — www.saveleeroad.com — after noticing the triangle on plans at a public hearing three years ago. Monday, he was cautiously optimistic about the DOT’s change of heart.

“I’m happy that they’re willing to look at it,” Johnson said. “I just want to get a little more information.”

The project – an overhaul of I-75 from south of Pierce Avenue to north of Arkwright Road – will include widening the interstate to six-lanes and widening and rebuilding several bridges.

The southbound entrance and exit near Pierce Avenue will be relocated across from the River Street Corners shopping center.

The work is expected to take about three years but will have what the DOT called “minimal impact” to the properties of businesses along Riverside Drive, aside from a Wendy’s that will close April 30. The restaurant is across from the new on- and off-ramps, where Riverside will be widened to add new turn lanes.

The DOT has said work could begin this summer, but that is looking less likely.

Paulk-Buchanan said Monday that the project is six to eight months from being let, or put out for bids. She also said the plans are still subject to change, though nothing major is expected.

”Until the project is let,” she said, “it’s not a final plan.”

Some property will be acquired for right of ways and easements for construction and maintenance of slopes, the DOT said. There also will be some upgrading to some side roads, including:

Ÿ Burrus Road, where turning radius will be increased and lanes added for right turns onto Burrus Road and from Burrus Road onto Riverside Drive.

Ÿ King Alfred Drive, also to get a wider turning radius as it will be widened to 24 feet.

Ÿ Sheraton Drive at Arkwright Road, to be widened to 24 feet and left- and right-turn lanes added.

Some residents, as well as area DOT board member Larry Walker, have said they were unaware of the project until reading about it in The Telegraph a few weeks ago. Paulk-Buchanan recommended that residents with questions about upcoming projects visit the DOT’s Web site — www.dot.state.ga.us — click on the “Contact Us” button and send an e-mail.

“We’re here to do that research for them,” she said. “The folks in that area may not feel they knew about this project, but in the future this might be a good resource for them.”

To contact writer Rodney Manley, call 744-4623.