When the Starr's

Mill school complex opened in 1998, there was an immediate traffic snarl

because road improvements didn't get done in time for the opening.

"I don't

want to be caught in the situation we were in at Redwine and [Ga. Highway]

74," said Lee Hearn, public works director for Fayette County.

The Board of

Education broke ground for the new Cleveland Elementary School on Lester

Road off Ga. Highway 54 west last week, and Hearn asked county commissioners

for money in the upcoming budget to get started on road improvements well

in advance of opening.

"I want

the intersection to be improved and the turn lanes in place in advance

of the school opening," he said, adding that he would need at least

$100,000 for utility relocation alone to get the project started.

But commissioners

decided to hold off and possibly put that money in the 2003 budget.

"They're

still two years away from opening that school," said Commissioner

Linda Wells. "If you need it [sooner], come back," she added.

Commissioners

approved a budget of $4.7 million, plus $991,000 for capital improvement

programs, for the Road Department, $1.3 million less than the budget Hearn

had requested.

Plans to align

County Line Road with McElroy Road to ease delays of up to 17 minutes

at the County Line/McDonough Road intersection are included, in hopes

of getting that project moving forward.

Local officials

have tried several times to get started on the project, but delays have

come from the state Department of Transportation, which approved the plan

last year but has withdrawn the money recently, said Hearn. He plans to

meet with DOT officials soon to get the delay resolved, he said.

"Do we

want to spend that much money [$367,000] to change an intersection of

a state road?" wondered commission Chairman Greg Dunn. But if all

goes well, $200,000 of that will come from the state, said Hearn.

The budget

also includes funding for traffic signals at McElroy and Ga. Highway 54,

and for the Huiett Road/Corinth Road/Ga. Highway 54 intersection. Commissioners

cut $40,000 for a signal at Redwine Road and Peachtree Parkway, saying

they'll fund that in next year's budget.

Hearn said

the department has budgeted for a more aggressive resurfacing program

this year, with plans to repave 45 miles of roads and streets compared

with 27 miles last year.

Maintenance

crews also hope to mow rights of way three times this summer instead of

the once-a-year mowing they've done in the past, he said.

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