The Georgia Department of Transportation will soon begin right of way acquisition along a 2.27 mile stretch of state Route 151 between U.S. Highway 41 and Holcomb Road as years of talk transition into action.
“Serious consideration of improving this stretch of road began in 1998,” GDOT spokesman David Spear said. “In 1996 the traffic count was 11,500 vehicles per day and volume was projected to increase to about 19,000 a day in 2018.”
GDOT officials came to Ringgold last week to display blueprints and answer questions about the project that includes the commercial district most heavily damaged during storms on April 27.
“We did try to fast track the project after the tornado,” said GDOT’s Mick Workman during a public meeting at the Poplar Springs Voting Precinct. “That should assist the public in their rebuilding efforts.”
Spear said plans are to widen the roadway to four lanes, replace two bridges that now cross I-75 with a single bridge, add sidewalks and follow current construction standards.
To begin, independent appraisals of the roughly 75 individual properties in the construction zone will be conducted over about the next three months. Securing easements and purchasing property will take about 24 months and bids for construction should be let in early 2013, he said.
The project will probably cost about $40 million, including engineering studies and acquisition of right of ways or easements on about 50 parcels, involve about three years of roadwork and could open in 2016 or 2017.
Some property owners after seeing the proposed plan expressed concern about how such a major construction project might impact their business, citing years of inconvenience while nearby Cloud Springs Road was widened. But most of the motels, restaurants and service stations have been waiting on insurance settlements, not the road’s being redone, before rebuilding.
There will be definite benefits to both businesses and anyone who now experiences bottlenecks and delays where the road now shrinks from a four- to a two-lane road and in trying to turn across the sometimes busy highway.
Preliminary plans show the road being widened to two lanes between Poplar Springs and Holcomb roads and gaining a signal light at Holcomb Road and the entrance to Rollins Industrial Park.
“It’s huge,” county manager Mike Helton said about the traffic light. “If some company goes in at our 50-acre industrial park, they want to be sure that traffic can safely make a left turn onto 151 from Holcomb Road.”
This project involves bringing the highway up to current standards: the Interstate-75 interchange will be improved, sidewalks will be poured and a raised concrete median will be added to the already four-lane section stretching from I-75 to U.S. Highway 41.
“We have a measurement that grades the traffic volume,” Spear said. “Installation of a median is strictly due to safety concerns.”
Business owners concerned
While transportation officials say the median is a plus, some business owners disagree and feel it will be a barrier that could hurt their viability.
“They’re talking about taking away ability to make a left turn into our business,” said Dale Scoggins whose Cleveland, Tenn.,-based J&S Restaurants operates more than 40 Hardee’s restaurants.
Scoggins, and his wife Julia, said Hardee’s has occupied the same Ringgold location since 1980. Both are adamant in saying “we’re going to rebuild,” but concerned they will lose customers if easy access is denied.
After listening to concerns and reviewing GDOT’s plans, Rep. Tom Weldon, R-Ringgold, who represents parts of Catoosa and Whitfield counties, said, “We want to keep those concrete medians to a minimum.”
Spear said GDOT officials, particularly when dealing with what is primarily a commercial district, listen to the concerns and suggestions of merchants, local legislators and residents and tries to strike a balance that will not compromise public safety.
“We will be very sensitive to the fact that many of the businesses will be rebuilding after the tornado,” he said, “but we cannot build a structure that we know is fundamentally unsafe.”