The

way has been paved for a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Peachtree City now that

the state Department of Transportation has approved the addition of a

"through lane" to Ga. Highway 54 West near the store's future

location.

Marion

Waters, the DOT's state traffic engineer, said Wednesday that the plans

submitted by the city were approved by top DOT officials with only technical

changes. Remaining intact is a plan to keep westbound traffic constantly

flowing through the intersection of Hwy. 54 and Huddleston Road by adding

a third lane for traffic.

That

lane would be separated from another westbound lane by a concrete barrier

that would allow traffic from Huddleston Road to travel west on Hwy. 54.

Eventually, those two lanes will merge into one lane.

Doug

McMurrain of RAM Development, which owns the Wal-Mart/Home Depot site,

said the traffic improvement elements will be completed in the first 90

days of breaking ground sometime in June. The improvements will help current

peak traffic problems in the area, McMurrain said, adding that the idea

for the through lane came from the city's traffic engineers.

The

stores will hopefully open this time next year since it takes about 9-12

months for construction and there's a good bit of site prep work to be

done, McMurrain added.

Also

included next to the through lane will be a dedicated turn lane that will

lead into the Wal-Mart/Home Depot shopping center that is planned by RAM

Development.

Waters

had indicated two weeks ago that it was likely the through lane would

be shortened to keep with policies developed for meeting air quality standards

in metro Atlanta. But the through lane proposal brought by the city was

unchanged.

"If

it changes the (air quality) model, it jeopardizes regional funding,"

because it would violate the Clean Air Act, Waters said Wednesday. "But

we want to do what's right and just try to be very, very careful."

RAM

plans to build other freestanding stores on the northern side of Hwy.

54 West, but the company is working with a local task force to consider

architectural standards and other options for those developments. There

is also a possibility that RAM could acquire the Line Creek Baptist Church

on Hwy. 54 just west of the railroad bridge for use as a possible commercial

site.

The

City Council approved the concept plan for the Wal-Mart back in November

after the Planning Commission recommend denial based largely on concerns

that the store couldn't meet the city's traffic ordinance. At that council

meeting, Mayor Bob Lenox announced that the city's traffic engineers ­

along with RAM's traffic engineers ­ had devised a plan that would

meet the traffic ordinance by using the through lane concept.

Council

members Annie McMenamin and Dan Tennant voted against approval of the

Wal-Mart concept plan at that meeting.

The

traffic ordinance requires traffic studies for all new developments in

the Hwy. 54 West corridor. Once a model is devised to include the new

development, the level of traffic must not worsen, using national traffic

standards that grade traffic quality on a scale of A through F.

An

"A" level of service is considered the best while an "F"

is considered the worst. Currently, the traffic on Hwy. 54 is rated a

"D" which is one step away from an "F".

If

the new development degrades the traffic quality, the developers must

pay for traffic improvements to maintain the current level of traffic.

In addition to the through lane and turn lanes, RAM will also add another

lane to Hwy. 74 south of the intersection with Hwy. 54 so traffic will

have more time to merge into one southbound lane on Hwy. 74.

Traffic

control on Hwy. 54 West is rapidly changing anyway, especially now that

a traffic light has been installed between Hwy. 74 and the railroad bridge

for The Avenue at Peachtree City shopping center. Also in the near future,

the traffic light currently at the intersection of Wynnmeade Parkway and

Hwy. 54 will be moved further east to the intersection of MacDuff Parkway.

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