Construction on the the intersection of Hwy. 92 and Veterans Parkway — the next link in the West Fayetteville Bypass — is expected to begin next spring if right-of-way acquisition and other issues are resolved.
That news was part of the report given during the Aug. 27 meeting of the Fayette County Board of Commissioners, during which an update on the project was presented but no official action was taken. The board had requested the update, with particular focus on the Hwy. 92/Veterans Pkwy. intersection across from Westbridge Road.
The presentation included a history of the overall project, from which county Public Works Director Phil Mallon identified three phases. The first was 1.6 miles of new new road from Bennett’s Mill Middle School to South Sandy Creek Road, including a traffic signal at Hwy. 54 and a multi-use path along a portion of Lester Road. The cost for this phase was $8.6 million.
The second phase included 4.4 miles of mostly new road construction from South Sandy Creek Road to Hwy. 92, with several stop-control intersections, a roundabout and a 647-foot bridge over Whitewater Creek. This is complete except for the Hwy. 92 intersection and a pedestrian tunnel at Pinewood Atlanta Studios. About $11.7 million has been spent so far out of just over $17 million budgeted.
Mallon referred to the third phase as “concept work only” with the goal of improving connection between Lester Road and Hwy. 85. The cost estimate is up to $14.1 million but funding has been removed and no further action planned, he said.
The West Fayetteville Bypass has been funded with local transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) dollars and has been worked on for more than seven years. Mallon said it was actually suggested for the first time in 1985 as part of a land use plan for the county. It was referred to as the “Central Parkway” in the county’s first comprehensive transportation improvement plan released in 1990. The East Fayetteville Bypass is referenced in that plan as well.
Mallon showed aerial photographs of a number of highlighted areas along the bypass route, such as the Hwy. 54 intersection, the Whitewater Creek bridge, the Lee’s Mill Road roundabout, and the the Hwy. 92 intersection.
As for the next steps, concept approval from the Georgia Department of Transportation has been completed, and an updated traffic study is ongoing. Other priorities listed by Mallon included completion of stop-control design, outsourcing of an erosion control plan, GDOT approval and permitting, ROW acquisition, procurement for the construction phase, and construction.
