Dual left-turn lanes planned for MacDuff; PTC Council asks state DOT to repave Hwy. 54 from the Clayton County line, heading west
Another transportation project along Ga. Highway 54 West will soon be getting underway. The Peachtree City Council on Dec. 7 approved intersection work at Hwy. 54 West and MacDuff Parkway that will add a second left-turn lane on the parkway.
Above, the Peachtree City Council on Dec. 7 approved a bid for intersection work at MacDuff Parkway and Ga. Highway 54 West. Pictured, from left, are Councilman Mike King, Mayor Vanessa Fleisch and council members Terry Ernst, Kim Learnard and Phil Prebor. Photo/Ben Nelms.
The council unanimously approved a low bid of $598,249 to Piedmont Paving for the work that will provide dual left-turn lanes on MacDuff for traffic heading east on Hwy. 54. The project bid will represent a cost-saving since it was initially budgeted at $650,000.
Other traffic flow improvements at the intersection will include the extension of the left-turn bay for traffic entering the parkway from Hwy. 54 and signal modifications to accommodate the dual left-turn lanes.
The work at the intersection will be coordinated in early 2018 with the intersection improvements a short distance to the east at the intersection of Planterra Way and Hwy. 54.
Turn lanes have been extended on Hwy. 54 on both sides of the intersection.
The second phase of the work, planned 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 for both coming intersection improvement 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.
With two intersection improvement projects about to get into full swing, City Manager Jon Rorie said the Ga. Department of Transportation (DOT) has been asked to begin its Hwy. 54 resurfacing work on the east side of the county to provide adequate time to have the west Peachtree City work to be completed.
Fayette County Public Works Director Phil Mallon in November said the contract to resurface the entire span of Hwy. 54 through Fayette County was awarded to E.R. Snell Contractor, Inc. in the amount of $14,159,974.
The initial phase of the resurfacing project comes with a March time frame.
Both Peachtree City intersection improvement projects are funded with SPLOST (special purpose local option sales tax) revenues and $150,000 contribution from DOT.
A third area project, one coming in the next couple of years, will involve the installation of a gateway bridge to be installed west of MacDuff Parkway and just to the east of Wynnmeade Parkway.
The north side of Hwy. 54 will have a series of cart paths installed between MacDuff and Wynnmeade that connect to the bridge crossing. A path will also be installed on the south side of Hwy. 54 that will connect to the retail area.
