Despite appearances

to the contrary, the Georgia Department of Transportation has approved

the construction of a traffic light on Ga. Highway 54 for a shopping center,

Peachtree City officials announced yesterday.

Developers

of The Avenue at Peachtree City shopping center expect to have the light

erected and running before it opens March 29, said city Information Specialist

Betsy Tyler. There was some sentiment from the DOT to hold approval of

the stoplight to see if it was absolutely necessary.

Jim Williams,

the city's director of developmental services, said last week that the

light was crucial to improving traffic in the area. He also guessed that

the DOT would eventually approve the signal.

A denial of

that traffic light could have threatened the viability of several other

projects in the area, including the proposed Wal-Mart/Home Depot shopping

center on Hwy. 54 and the 350-home Inverness subdivision on MacDuff Parkway.

That's because when traffic studies were performed on both those developments,

engineers figured in the presence of the light for The Avenue.

Had the DOT

denied the light, city officials were prepared to order a re-working of

the traffic estimates to determine if the Wal-Mart/Home Depot and the

Inverness subdivision would pass muster of the traffic ordinance.

The city had

also planned a course of action to take in case the light wasn't ready

would have to erect signs directing traffic to the southern end of the

property so vehicles could reach the state highway system. Also, Cousins

would be responsible for informing the public of the situation through

media outlets.

The DOT originally

indicated that the light for The Avenue could cause traffic flow problems

because it is so close to the signal at the intersection of Hwys. 54 and

74. Also, its proximity to the railroad bridge was considered a hindrance.

DOT officials

could not be reached for comment by press time Thursday afternoon.