A piece of Fayetteville’s history came to an end Sept. 22 in a project that signals the next phase of the city’s future. A portion of Hudson Plaza, the city’s first shopping center, was demolished to make way for the Ga. Hwy. 92/Hood Avenue realignment project that will connect to North Jeff Davis Drive and help mitigate downtown traffic congestion.
Hudson Plaza was constructed in the early 1970s. It was in late 2010 that the City Council approved the Hwy. 92/Hood Avenue realignment project as part of the 2010 Fayette County Comprehensive Transportation Plan which subsequently won the approval of voters.
The Hwy. 92/Hood Avenue project is expected to significantly impact the traffic flow on Fayetteville’s north side and in the downtown area by linking Hwy. 92 and Hood Avenue to North Jeff Davis Drive by way of Kathi Avenue. The project includes the demolition of the small building at Hudson Plaza situated perpendicular to Ga. Highway 85 and four residential structures on Hood Avenue and Hwy. 92.
Funded by one-percent sales tax revenues, 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 Hwy. 92 to Hood Avenue on the west side of Hwy. 85. A mini-roundabout will be located just west of where Hwy. 92 connects to Hwy. 85 and will send the majority of traffic down to Hood Avenue a short distance to the south. The intersection of Hwy. 92 will remain open at Hwy. 85 but without a traffic signal.
The roundabout connecting Hwy. 92 and Hood Avenue will be located on Hood Avenue approximately 400 feet west of 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 northbound turns. The fifth lane will be designated for traffic coming from the east side of Hwy. 85 onto Hood Avenue and Hwy. 92.
The project also includes extending Hood Avenue east across Hwy. 85 along the south side of Hudson Plaza where the demolition occurred this week. A new roadway will be installed and will link with Kathi Avenue by way of another roundabout east of Hudson Plaza and on to North 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.
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.
The roadway construction contract will go to bid in December with project completion expected in mid-2016.
