Turn lanes on Ga. Highway 54 at Planterra Way have been extended. The next phase of traffic improvements, installing new turn lanes on Planterra and those exiting Walmart, will begin in January.
Above, Planterra Way’s intersection with Ga. Highway 54 looks deceptively clear here. But wait until late afternoon . . . This intersection will soon give way to a new look when new lanes are added to both sides of the intersection. Photo/Ben Nelms.
It was in August that the Peachtree City Council approved an $852,000 bid for work on the intersection. The first phase extended turn lanes on the east and west sides Hwy. 54.
The second phase, expected to begin in January, will add turn lanes on Planterra and at the exit from the Walmart retail area. As with the previous phase, the majority of the work will be done at night during low-traffic times.
On the Planterra side, the current median will be removed and the finished product will include a left turn lane onto Hwy. 54 West, a thru-lane into the Walmart/Home Depot area and a right turn lane for traffic heading east on Hwy. 54.
For traffic leaving the Walmart and Home Depot area there will be two left turn lanes for traffic onto Hwy. 54 eastbound.
The improvement at Planterra Way will eliminate the split-phasing of the traffic signal. Split-phasing means the left turn from Planterra onto Hwy. 54 and the left turn from the Walmart area onto Hwy. 54 cannot be operated at the same time and, consequently, increases the traffic cycling time and causes more back-ups.
“There is no good time to do a transportation project on an active road,” City Manager Jon Rorie said recently, explaining that to do the entire project at once would mean that barrels and barricades be in place during the holiday season.
The project will be funded with with $702,000 in SPLOST (special purpose local option sales tax) revenues and $150,000 contribution from DOT.
