A massive traffic change is coming this summer to one of the busiest intersections in Fayette County.
The long-planned Ga. Highway 92/Hood Avenue realignment project to improve the traffic flow on Fayetteville’s north side could get underway by September.
The large project will take 18 months to complete and will re-work several streets and intersections around Ga. Highway 85 North and east to North Jeff Davis Drive.
Fayetteville Public Services Director Chris Hindman said project bids will be opened on July 16. The 18-month project could get underway in August or September, Hindman said.
Hindman said the city and Fayette County are working jointly on a project to interconnect Hood Avenue and Hwy. 92 North and to extend the road across Hwy. 85 North to Kathi Avenue and Jeff Davis Drive. The new road system will also include an extension to Church Street.
“This will greatly improve traffic circulation and safety in the North Hwy. 85 area,”said Hindman. “Fayette County will provide approximately $7.8 million dollars of SPLOST (special purpose local options sales tax) funds for the project to pay for right of way and construction.”
The total length of the project is approximately 6,000 feet.
The project will relocate the traffic signal currently at the very busy intersection of 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 approximately 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 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.
A portion of the Hudson Plaza Shopping Center previously situated perpendicular to Hwy. 85 and across the highway from Hood Avenue was demolished nearly a year ago to make way for the realignment project.
