GDOT Told Bidders For Engineering Design Services For U.S. 441 Widening And Bishop Bypass In Oconee County That It Needed A Validation Of Existing Plans

Revision Possible

While representatives of the Georgia Department of Transportation last week emphasized the lack of firm plans for the future route of a widened U.S. 441 in southern Oconee County, the Request for Qualifications issued late last year for engineering design services presents at least a slightly different picture.

Brad Saxon, assistant state program delivery engineer for GDOT, told a gathering of citizens at Oconee Veterans Park on Nov. 30 that “we do not have a preferred alignment” for the route and “we are starting work anew.”

Farmland Protection Was A Central Theme Of Oconee County Citizen Group Meeting Regarding U.S. 441 Widening and Bishop Bypass

Stay Organized

When given the opportunity to speak on Thursday night, Carole Ludwig, 1510 Old Farmington Road, outside Bishop, seized it quickly.

“Yea, I want to talk,” Ludwig told the more than 40 people assembled at the Oconee County Library in Watkinsville to discuss the proposed widening of U.S. 441 and construction of a bypass of Bishop.

Crowd At Regional Transportation Authority Meeting Concerned About Possible Route Of U.S. 441 From Watkinsville To County Line

Technical Matter

The meeting on Monday night was on a technical issue involving funding for the widening of U.S. 441 and construction of a Bishop bypass, but the more than 30 people who crammed the room had a broader range of concerns.

Sherry McDuffie, planner with the Madison Athens-Clarke Oconee Regional Transportation Study (MACORTS), anticipated those concerns, and she told the group at the beginning of what was billed as a drop-in session that she didn’t have information on the future route or other matters.

Boswell Properties Finally Placed Its Sign At SR 316 And Oconee Connector In Location Specified By Its Permit From Oconee County

Twice Removed

It has taken more than two years, but Boswell Properties finally has gotten its sign for property it is listing at the corner of SR 316 and the Oconee Connector into compliance with Oconee County’s sign ordinance.

The sign now is located between SR 316 and Mars Hill Road on the Oconee Connector at the location specified in the permit the county issued to Boswell properties on Aug. 22, 2013, and the sign is the size specified in the permit.

MACORTS, Citizen Group Holding Meetings on U.S. 441 Widening and Bishop Bypass

Vote To Reject Federal Funding

The Madison Athens-Clarke Oconee Regional Transportation Study (MACORTS) is holding a public hearing from 5 to 7 p.m. on Monday as a required step in removing the widening of U.S. 441 and construction of the Bishop bypass from the constraints of federal funding for the road project.

The meeting will be held in the Community Center at Oconee Veterans Park, 3500 Hog Mountain Road.

Oconee County Board Of Commissioners Has Revised Animal Control Ordinance On Agenda For Tuesday Night

Tethering Not Addressed

Oconee County’s Animal Control Ordinance is on the agenda for discussion at the Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday night, but one of the most controversial aspects of that ordinance is not scheduled for consideration.

The Board is to discuss minor modifications to the existing ordinance to bring it into alignment with changes to the state regulations controlling treatment of animals.

Oconee County Consultant Says Mars Hill Road Widening Will Adversely Affect Existing Homeowners Along The Corridor

Will Want To Leave

Oconee County consultant Bill Ross offered a sympathetic but decidedly negative view of the future for home owners fronting on Mars Hill Road once the widening project is complete in March of 2018.

The increased traffic is going to make it unattractive for people to stay in their houses, Ross told the Citizens Advisory Committee on Land Use and Transportation Planning on Nov. 10.