The seemingly endless era of traffic back-ups and the constant risk of traffic accidents are about to be a thing of the past. Depending on weather conditions, road crews working to realign Rockaway Road to intersect with Ga. Highway 74 at Holly Grove Road on the south side of Peachtree City are expected to have the new intersection open for traffic sometime this weekend or early next week.
Ga. Dept. of Transportation spokesperson Kimberly Larson said Thursday that the long-awaited project was expected to be completed and open for traffic on Friday. Rains moving through the area have potentially dampened that expectation, though crews expect to complete the intersection sometime this weekend or early next week, Larson said.
The intersection of Hwy. 74 and Rockaway Road is arguably the most problematic and potentially dangerous portion of the entire Hwy. 74 South widening project area that extends from Cooper Circle to Ga. Highway 85. Rockaway’s long lines and tricky left turns onto Hwy. 74 have been a transportation mainstay for years.
Once completed by the end of 2011, the project will create a four-lane roadway with a 24-foot raised median from Cooper Circle to Hwy. 85, spanning a length of 3.3 miles.
Larson said that, by contract requirement, the realignment of Rockaway was designated as the first order of business for the widening project. The 1,900 linear foot realignment re-routed Rockaway to the west to bring it to the traffic signal with Holly Grove Road.
Along with the Rockaway realignment, a new bridge will be constructed over Flat Creek near the existing bridge location and Padgett Road is being relocated 280 feet west of its current location to link with the Hwy. 74/Hwy. 85 intersection.
The widening contract was awarded in September for $16.9 million and is being funded by federal stimulus money through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The project completion date is Dec. 31, 2011.
The projected traffic volumes range from 18,900 vehicles per day in 2009 to an expected volume of 31,100 vehicles per day in 2029.
