Motorists fighting heavy congestion

at the intersection of County Line and McDonough roads won't get relief

anytime soon.

After failing to get all the

help they needed from the state Department of Transportation, county officials

are lobbying Washington for funds to improve the intersection.

The intersection is clogged

partly because two roads dead end into McDonough Road County Line and

McElroy within a short distance. The best solution, county public works

director Lee Hearn told county commissioners, is to align McElroy and

County Line so that there's only one intersection.

The project also includes cutting

down the hill that motorists encounter on County Line Road, to improve

sight distance.

Money is the only obstacle,

and state DOT officials had promised to provide the needed funds last

year, because McDonough Road is slated to become a state highway.

But when DOT Commissioner Wayne

Shackelford retired and was replaced with Commissioner Tom Coleman, the

funding was reduced to $200,000, not nearly enough.

Officials, including Hearn

and County Commission Chairman Greg Dunn, met recently with Coleman and

got funding for the project restored, but only $350,000 was earmarked.

"We need $700,000," said Dunn in reporting the matter to commissioners.

"He basically said they're

out of money," Dunn added.

The federal government has

funding available for projects that address safety concerns, said Dunn,

adding that in addition to the traffic bottleneck, the County Line/McDonough

Road problem is unsafe.

Local officials will get in

touch with federal officials and try to get as much money as possible,

then determine how much money the county will have to come up with to

get the project done.

"Quite frankly, we shouldn't

have to do it at all," said Dunn.

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