Instead of waiting for the

Wal-Mart/Home Depot developer to build road improvements for the Ga. Highway

54/74 intersection, the Peachtree City Council has approved funding five

short-term road improvements for the area.

Three of the five projects

are part of the traffic improvement plan which RAM Development is responsible

for building so the retail center can meet the guidelines of the city's

traffic ordinance. But the development agreement stipulating those projects

hasn't been signed yet.

Doug Dillard, an attorney for

RAM, said the firm will reimburse the city for any funds it spends on

those three projects, as long as the cost is within reason and if the

development is given a green light.

The project is currently awaiting

the final permits from the state Department of Transportation, Dillard

said. Once those are in hand, the development agreement can be signed

and the road improvement projects will be one of the first items RAM wants

completed, he added.

Despite Dillard's assurances,

Councilman Steve Rapson said council should prepare to spend money from

its contingency fund to pay for the projects.

"The issue is we're already

three weeks further down the road," Rapson said, referring to the

previous council meeting where no action was taken on the issue. Waiting

any longer to act would do a disservice to city residents who get stuck

in traffic there every day, he added.

If council is reimbursed for

the three projects by RAM, only $157,000 would come out of the contingency

fund for the other two projects, Rapson said. The estimated total for

all five projects is $432,000.

If the city performs the work,

a delay could be caused by the process of applying for DOT permits, said

City Manager Jim Basinger.

The projects, in priority order,

are:

The addition of a 250-foot

right turn lane off Hwy. 54 east onto Huddleston Drive, tabbed at $85,000.

The idea is to allow traffic headed into the industrial park to use Huddleston

as a route there, bypassing the 54/74 interchange, which becomes clogged

during rush hour.

The addition of a right turn

lane on Huddleston at that intersection for traffic heading eastbound

on Hwy. 54. The $187,000 project would make the signal switch for Huddleston

shorter, officials believe.

Extending the left turn lane

for southbound traffic on Hwy. 74 so more vehicles can turn onto Hwy.

54 heading east. That would cost an estimated $40,000.

Installing an additional right

turn lane for southbound traffic on Hwy. 74 so more vehicles can turn

onto Hwy. 54 heading west; the estimated cost is $150,000.

The addition of a second left

turn lane for northbound motorists on Hwy. 74 so they can head west on

Hwy. 54. That project is expected to cost $55,000.

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