Travel to and from Heritage Healthcare of Fort Oglethorpe should soon become safer due to legal action by the Fort Oglethorpe City Council last Tuesday during a called meeting.
By unanimous vote, the council exercised the right of eminent domain so Patterson Avenue can cross the nursing home’s property and connect with Fant Drive.
“This will benefit the nursing home by giving them access to a traffic light,” City Manager Ron Goulart said.
Drivers traveling south on Battlefield Parkway must now enter the turn lane and cross three lanes of northbound traffic to reach the nursing home.
In the past, anyone wanting to exit the facility and turn toward Ringgold had to cross the three westbound lanes, negotiate the turn lane and merge with eastbound traffic.
Due to the number of accidents and near-misses, about a year ago the city installed a “no left turn” sign at 1067 Battlefield Parkway which is the nursing home’s driveway.
Goulart said many have bypassed the ban by driving through the Carmike Battlefield 10 movie theater’s parking lot to then turn left.
The decision to take legal action to gain a 3,953-square-foot construction easement and a total easement of 28,589 square feet, while necessary due to corporate policy, is welcome locally, Goulart said.
Patterson Avenue currently parallels and is one block to the north of Battlefield Parkway from U.S. Highway 27 to Block Road which intersects with Cloud Springs Road.
The city would have provided paved access from Heritage’s parking lot to Patterson Avenue had Health Properties Inc., the nursing home’s corporate owner, ceded the necessary right of way.
Since the city was forced to resort to legal action, Fort Oglethorpe will pay the appraised value of $57,156 for the right of way easement and provide a curb cut but no connecting drive for the nursing home.
State law provides immediate possession for the city, and, since all necessary engineering studies have been completed, the project should be ready for bids before June.