Commercial

development approved for Ga. Highway 54 West since plans were first drawn

up for widening the corridor have forced still more delays, pushing the

estimated start of the project to April at the earliest, transportation

officials confirmed earlier this week.

The addition

of Home Depot and Wal-Mart to the congested stretch of highway has dramatically

changed the traffic patterns of the area, said David Millen, pre-construction

engineer.

"There

was some development that went on out there after we were deep into design

on this project," Millen said. "When some of that hits late

in the game, it generates different traffic patterns and we have to modify

our plans."

"They

started selling them off very rapidly," he said of RAM Development,

which built Home Depot and has plans for the Line Creek Church property.

In addition,

Peachtree City has either approved or proposed a host of new developments

along Hwy. 54 in front of Home Depot that factor significantly into the

DOT's plans, Millen said.

"All of

the projects reviewed and approved during the last few years included

the latest right-of-way information that could be obtained," from

the DOT, said Betsy Tyler, the city's public information officer.

"The City

is aware of delays in Ga. DOT acquiring certain parcels of the right of

way due to nonagreement between the landowner and Ga. DOT on the value

of the property, Tyler's office said. "This is not unusual in a project

this size.

"The only

design changes the city has participated in with the DOT are the location

and design of the sidewalks on the north side of the highway," Tyler

said. "We've requested that it meander through the right-of-way rather

than follow their traditional design of having the sidewalk immediately

abut the road.However, that is an issue within the right of way and should

not affect the acquisition process."

According

to Tyler, city planners worked with the DOT to come up with the following

modifications, all to be funded by a Liveable Cities Initiative (LCI)

grant.

Changed the

design of the median from a rural section to an urban section.

Eliminated

the sidewalks on either side of the road.

Added decorative

street lights and signal poles at each intersection.

Changed the

design for the CSX railroadbridge.

That meant

going