The Ga. Highway 92/Hood Avenue realignment project that will significantly impact the traffic flow on Fayetteville’s north side and in the downtown area is about to move a step closer to reality.
The City Council voted Aug.7 to approve a bid to demolish several structures along Ga. Highway 85 North. When completed, Hwy. 92 and Hood Avenue will merge and cross Hwy. 85, then link to North Jeff Davis Drive to the east.
The council approved the $147,200 low bid provided by Wrecking Corporation of America. Work includes demolishing the small building at Hudson Plaza situated perpendicular to Hwy. 85 as well as four residential structures on Hood Avenue and Hwy. 92 as part of the realignment project.
“The purpose of the demolition is to remove the existing structures before going out to bid for the roadway project,” said city Public Services Director Chris Hindman. “There is a 90-day completion timetable for the demolition of all of the structures.”
The project will be paid for through the use of local one-percent sales tax (SPLOST) funds which were allocated for the realignment project, Hindman said.
The project will relocate the traffic signal at Hwy. 92 and Hwy. 85 a short distance to the south at Hood Avenue. A large roundabout will connect Hood Avenue to Hwy. 92 on the west side of Hwy. 85. A mini-roundabout will be located at the point that Hwy. 92 continues to Hwy. 85 where the current traffic signal is located.
The roundabout connecting Hwy. 92 and Hood Avenue will be located about 400 feet from Hwy. 85 and will be quite large. Vehicles passing through the roundabout on the way to Hwy. 85 will find a total of five lanes of roadway. Two of those lanes will be right-turn only, one will cross Hwy. 85 and onto the Hood Avenue extension while a fourth will be designated for left turns. The fifth lane will be designated for traffic coming from the east side of Hwy. 85 onto Hwy. 92.
The project also includes extending Hood Avenue east across Hwy. 85 along the south side of Hudson Plaza where it will link with Kathi Avenue by way of another roundabout east of Hudson Plaza, and on to Jeff Davis Drive to the east. Still another project component includes extending Church Street from where it currently ends at Georgia Avenue. The new extension will tie in with the Kathi Avenue roundabout.
A portion of the demolition project includes the removal of the the smaller, southernmost Hudson Plaza building positioned perpendicular to Hwy. 85 and situated across from Hood Avenue. That extension will provide the link to Jeff Davis Drive.
Overall, the project is meant to diminish traffic accidents at Hood Avenue and Hwy. 92, relieve traffic congestion in the Hwy. 85/Ga. Highway 54 area, improve the traffic flow through the downtown area, relieve traffic congestion on Georgia Avenue near the post office and improve traffic safety.
The new configuration is projected by the Ga. Dept. of Transportation to mitigate the traffic flow through 2032.
